title: First evaluation of neustonic microplastics in Black Sea waters.
abstract: The Black Sea has a high risk of plastic pollution given the high river discharge of several industrialized countries into this semi-enclosed sea. Here, for the first time, the occurrence and distribution of microplastics are reported for the Black Sea. Microplastics were assessed from zooplankton samples taken during two cruises along the south eastern coast of the Black Sea in the November of 2014 and February of 2015. In each cruise neuston samples were collected at 12 stations using a WP2 net with 200 μm mesh. Microplastics (0.2-5 mm) were found in 92% of the samples. The primary shapes were fibres (49.4%) followed by plastic films (30.6%) and fragments (20%), and no micro beads were found. Average microplastic concentration in November (1.2 ± 1.1 × 10(3) par. m(-3)) was higher than in February (0.6 ± 0.55 × 10(3) par. m(-3)). Reduced concentrations in February were possibly caused by increased mixing. The highest concentrations of microplastics were observed in offshore stations during November sampling. The heterogeneous spatial distribution (0.2 × 10(3)-3.3 × 10(3) par. m(-3) for all samples) and accumulation in some stations could be associated to transport and retention mechanisms linked with wind and the dynamics of the rim current, as well by different sources of plastic. There were no statistically significant differences in MP concentration between sampling stations and sampling periods (t-test, p < 0.05).The relatively high microplastic concentrations suggest that Black Sea is a hotspot for microplastic pollution and there is an urgency to understand their origins, transportation and effects on marine life.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Fisheries, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, 53100 Rize, Turkey. Electronic address: ulgen.kopuz@erdogan.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Ulgen
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Aytan
authors.affiliation: Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, (MARE), Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valente
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Fisheries, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, 53100 Rize, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yasemen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Senturk
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Fisheries, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, 53100 Rize, Turkey.
authors.forename: Riza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Usta
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Fisheries, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, 53100 Rize, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatma Basak
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Esensoy Sahin
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Fisheries, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, 53100 Rize, Turkey.
authors.forename: Rahsan Evren
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Mazlum
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Fisheries, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, 53100 Rize, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ertugrul
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Agirbas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059038:Black Sea; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D015048:Zooplankton / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Bioavailability; Black Sea; MSFD; Microplastic; Neuston; Zooplankton