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Seasonal patterns of microplastics in surface sediments of a Mediterranean lagoon heavily impacted by human activities (Bizerte lagoon, Northern Tunisia)

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Abstract  

In this paper, we investigated seasonal variations in concentrations of microplastics (MPs) in surface sediments of a lagoon heavily impacted by human activities, located in northern Tunisia (the Bizerte lagoon, southern Mediterranean Sea). Analyses of 112 sediment samples collected from 28 stations between May 2019 and February 2020 revealed significant seasonal variation in concentrations of total MPs, with the highest levels recorded in August 2019 (109.6 ± 59.8 items kg−1 DS (dry sediment)) and the lowest in February 2020 (33.2 ± 22.0 items kg−1 DS). In terms of polymer types, polyethylene particles were the most abundant throughout the year, followed by polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polyethylene terephthalate. Spatial variations in total MP concentrations were found to depend on several environmental factors, including proximity to the coastline, level of anthropogenic pressure, location inside the lagoon, and presence/absence of vegetation. The upper 5-cm surface sediment layer of the lagoon was found to contain ~ 9.96 × 1010 MP particles, equal to ~ 248.97 t of plastic. Similar patterns of microplastic composition and structure were found throughout the year, revealing the same plastic pollution hotspots during all seasons. This indicates that sources of plastic pollution are land-based and originate from coastal urban, industrial, and agricultural areas, as well as from major freshwater streams. The findings of the present work can help to develop an efficient environmental management plan aiming to reduce and/or stop the spread of plastic pollution and its impacts on the socially and economically important ecosystem of the Bizerte lagoon.

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Data availability

The dataset used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all those who helped with sediment surveys, as well as those who helped in the laboratory analyses of collected samples at the IRDL (France), especially Lata Soccalingame and Maialen Palazot. We are also grateful to the three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions which helped to improve the quality of the manuscript. We also thank Mr. Timothy Robert Wick for checking and improving the English manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Supporting Project (RSP-2021/75), King Saud University (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Jendouba, Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Béja, Habib Bourguiba Avenue, 9000, Béja, Tunisia

    Takwa Wakkaf

  2. University of Tunis El Manar, Faculty of Science of Tunis, Laboratory of Biodiversity and Parasitology of Aquatic Ecosystems (LR18ES05), 2092, Tunis, Tunisia

    Takwa Wakkaf & Lotfi Rabaoui

  3. SADEF, 30 Rue de la Station, 68700, Aspach-Le-Bas, France

    Radhouan El Zrelli

  4. University of Carthage, Amilcar, Tunis, Tunisia

    Lamia Yacoubi

  5. Université Bretagne Sud, IRDL, UMR CNRS 6027, F-56100, Lorient, France

    Mikaël Kedzierski & Stéphane Bruzaud

  6. National Taiwan University, Institute of Oceanography, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan

    Yu-Jia Lin

  7. Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Lamjed Mansour

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  1. Takwa Wakkaf
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  2. Radhouan El Zrelli
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Contributions

TW: samples and data collection, data analysis, writing - original draft preparation. REZ and MK: conceptualization, methodology, supervision, writing—reviewing and editing. LY, and LM: methodology, resources, writing—reviewing and editing. SB and LR: conceptualization, methodology, resources, investigation, supervision, project administration, funding acquisition, writing—reviewing and editing.

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Correspondence to Lotfi Rabaoui.

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Wakkaf, T., El Zrelli, R., Yacoubi, L. et al. Seasonal patterns of microplastics in surface sediments of a Mediterranean lagoon heavily impacted by human activities (Bizerte lagoon, Northern Tunisia). Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 76919–76936 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21129-6

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