Anthropogenic Microparticles: Coastal Distribution in the Southern Mexican Pacific Coast

• María del Carmen Alejo Plata ^[1] ; Cristóbal Reyes Hernández ^[1] ; Miguel Angel Ahumada Sempoal ^[1] ; Adrián Felipe González Acosta ^[2] ; Jorge Eduardo Herrera Galindo ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad del Mar

     Universidad del Mar

     México

     
  2. [2] Instituto Politécnico Nacional-Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México
• Localización: Thalassas: An international journal of marine sciences, ISSN 0212-5919, Vol. 37, Nº. 2, 2021, págs. 917-926
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The buoyancy properties of anthropogenic microparticles (AM) have contributed to their wide dispersion across rivers and oceans, as they tend to float and can be transported by wind and marine currents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the abundance and distribution of AM in relation to zooplankton abundance in three coastal localities from the southern Mexican Pacific. Thirty-nine zooplankton samples were collected along eleven transects perpendicular to the coast of Oaxaca; in three localities: Puerto Escondido, Huatulco, and Salina Cruz, from April 30 to May 12, 2017- Sixty-eight percent of samples showed evidence of AM (mainly microfibers), with abundances varying by locations between 0.004 to 8.72 microparticles per 1000 m3. The relationship between zooplankton biomass and AM abundance was not statistically significant (r2 = 0.0104), likely due to the dispersion of AM towards the open ocean by offshore winds that reduce coastal concentrations