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Preliminary Investigation of Microlitter Pollution in Low-Energy Hydrodynamic Basins Using Sabella spallanzanii (Polychaeta: Sabellidae) Tubes

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Abstract

Harbor basins are strategically important and heavily impacted water bodies according to the water framework directive. Due to constant traffic, variety of activities, and low-energy hydrodynamics, these areas can have high degrees of water pollution. This study reports the results of the preliminary investigation of anthropogenic microlitter (AM) pollution in a semi-enclosed basin (Civitavecchia harbor; northern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) using the tubes built by the polychaete Sabella spallanzanii. The visual inspection showed AM particles within the tube structure as a result of its building process. The total average AM abundance was 20.8 ± 3.7 AM g−1. AM abundances and flushing time as the hydrodynamic parameter of water renewal highlight the homogeneity of the sampling area. The suitability of S. spallanzanii tubes as a potential tool to investigate the AM pollution level in sheltered and polluted environments is highlighted.

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Acknowledgements

This research was carried out as a part of the project “Studio dei macroinvertebrati alieni associati ai substrati duri del Porto di Civitavecchia” (Prot. AP93949, 03/08/2018). The authors express their gratitude to the Environmental Office of the Port Authority System of the Central Northern Tyrrhenian Sea for funding the project and for the support in the sampling activities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fondazione CMCC–Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, Lecce, Italy

    Daniele Piazzolla, Sergio Scanu & Marco Marcelli

  2. Laboratory of Experimental Oceanology and Marine Ecology, DEB, Tuscia University, Molo Vespucci, Port of Civitavecchia, 00053, Civitavecchia, RM, Italy

    Daniele Piazzolla, Valentina Cafaro, Emanuele Mancini, Sergio Scanu, Simone Bonamano & Marco Marcelli

  3. Consorzio Universitario Per La Ricerca Socioeconomica E Per L’Ambiente, CURSA, Via Ravenna, 8, 00161, Roma, RM, Italy

    Valentina Cafaro

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  1. Daniele Piazzolla
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Correspondence to Valentina Cafaro.

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Piazzolla, D., Cafaro, V., Mancini, E. et al. Preliminary Investigation of Microlitter Pollution in Low-Energy Hydrodynamic Basins Using Sabella spallanzanii (Polychaeta: Sabellidae) Tubes. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 104, 345–350 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02797-x

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