FN Archimer Export Format PT J TI Plastic debris occurrence, convergence areas and fin whales feeding ground in the Mediterranean Marine Protected Area Pelagos Sanctuary: a modelling approach BT AF FOSSI, Maria Cristina ROMEO, Teresa PANTI, Matteo MARSILI, Letizia CAMPANI, Tommaso CANESE, Simonepietro GALGANI, Francois DRUON, Jean-Noël AIROLDI, Sabina TADDEI, Stefano FATTORINI, Maria BRANDINI, Carlo LAPUCCI, Chiara AS 1:1;2:2;3:1;4:1;5:1;6:2;7:3;8:4;9:5;10:6;11:6;12:6;13:6; FF 1:;2:;3:;4:;5:;6:;7:PDG-ODE-LITTORAL-LERPAC;8:;9:;10:;11:;12:;13:; C1 Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Italy Laboratory of Milazzo, ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Italy French Res Inst Exploitat Sea, IFREMER, Immeuble Agostini, Corsica, France Sustainable Resources, Unit D.02 Water and Marine Resources, European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Italy Thetys research Institute, Italy LaMMA Consortium - Institute of BioMeteorology, National Council of Research (IBIMET-CNR), Italy C2 UNIV SIENA, ITALY ISPRA, ITALY IFREMER, FRANCE JRC, ITALY THETYS RESEARCH INST, ITALY CNR, ITALY SI CORSE SE PDG-ODE-LITTORAL-LERPAC IN WOS Ifremer jusqu'en 2018 DOAJ copubli-europe IF 5.247 TC 137 UR https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00386/49763/50356.pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00386/49763/50357.pdf LA English DT Article DE ;floating plastic debris;microplastics;Mediterranean Sea;convergence areas;modeling;fin whales;Marine Protected Area AB The Mediterranean Sea is greatly affected by marine litter. In this area, research on the impact of plastic debris (including microplastics) on biota, particularly large filter-feeding species such as the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), is still in its infancy. We investigated the possible overlap between microplastic, mesoplastic and macrolitter accumulation areas and the fin whale feeding grounds in in a pelagic Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI): the Pelagos Sanctuary. Models of ocean circulation and fin whale potential habitat were merged to compare marine litter accumulation with the presence of whales. Additionally, field data on microplastics, mesoplastics and macrolitter abundance and cetacean presence were simultaneously collected. The resulting data were compared, as a multi-layer, with the simulated distribution of plastic concentration and the whale habitat model. These data showed a high occurrence of microplastics (mean: 0.082 items/m2, STD ± 0.079 items/m2) spatial distribution agreed with our modelling results. Areas with high microplastic density significantly overlapped with areas of high macroplastic density. The most abundant polymer detected in all the sampling sites was polyethylene (PE), suggesting fragmentation of larger packaging items as the primary source. To our knowledge, this is the first study in the Pelagos Sanctuary in which the simulated microplastic distribution has been confirmed by field observations. The overlap between the fin whale feeding habitat and the microplastic hot spots is an important contribution for risk assessment of fin whale exposure to microplastics. PY 2017 SO Frontiers In Marine Science SN 2296-7745 PU Frontiers Media SA VL 4 IS 167 UT 000457690600167 DI 10.3389/fmars.2017.00167 ID 49763 ER EF