Microplastic accumulation dynamics in two Mediterranean beaches with contrasting inputs

Contrasting Biogeographic and Diversification Patterns in Two Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems

The five Mediterranean regions of the world comprise almost 50,000 plant species (ca 20% of the known vascular plants) despite accounting for less than 5% of the world's land surface. The ecology and evolutionary history of two of these regions, the Cape Floristic Region and the Mediterranean Basin, have been extensively investigated, but there have been few studies aimed at understanding the h...

Neustonic microplastic and zooplankton in the North Western Mediterranean Sea.

Neustonic microplastic and zooplankton abundance was determined in the North Western Mediterranean Sea during a summer cruise between July 9th and August 6th 2010, with a break between July 22 th and 25th due to a strong wind event. Ninety percent of the 40 stations contained microplastic particles (size 0.3-5mm) of various compositions: e.g., filaments, polystyrene, thin plastic films. An aver...

Numerical experiments on breaking waves on contrasting beaches using a two-phase flow approach

Leaf physiological traits and its relation with sugar beet cultivar success in two contrasting environments

The aim of this study was to identify leaf physiological traits, which could be used in selecting high yielding genotypes among 12 sugar beet cultivars grown in two contrasting pedo-climatic environments. In the stressful Site 1 (high temperatures, low rainfall, heavy-textured soil), high yielders had cooler leaves (lower ΔT) and thus, transpired (E) and photosynthesized (A) more. Also, these c...

Accumulation of microplastic on shorelines woldwide: sources and sinks.

Plastic debris <1 mm (defined here as microplastic) is accumulating in marine habitats. Ingestion of microplastic provides a potential pathway for the transfer of pollutants, monomers, and plastic-additives to organisms with uncertain consequences for their health. Here, we show that microplastic contaminates the shorelines at 18 sites worldwide representing six continents from the poles to the...