Research Article

Microplastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems: A case study from Turkey

Volume: 37 Number: 3 September 15, 2020
TR EN

Microplastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems: A case study from Turkey

Abstract



Microplastic pollution has increased rapidly over recent decades and accepted as an emerging thread. However, the effects and dimensions of microplastic pollution on aquatic ecosystems have not been fully understood yet. Most of these few studies have been carried out in marine ecosystems and the number of studies on freshwater are very limited. This is the first study represents a detailed investigation of microplastic pollution in a freshwater body in Turkey. In this study, microplastic (<5 mm) pollution level of surface water samples taken from Cevdet Pond (Yozgat/Turkey) was investigated. Water samples (150 L) were taken from 5 stations and microplastic particles were extracted via density separation method. Random particles were examined both visually and spectrophotometrically (-Raman). According to station averages, there were 233 microplastic particles in 1 m3 of the pond water. Highest number of MP particles observed in 100-250 m (56%) size class. Most abundant microplastic type and colour are fiber (91%) and blue (36%) respectively. Polypropylene (50%) and polyethylene (40%) were the most abundant type of polymers according to -Raman analysis. The presence of microplastic pollution in an area where human impact is relatively low, indicates the prevalence of microplastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems. 


Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Hydrobiology , Environmental Sciences , Limnology

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

September 15, 2020

Submission Date

November 27, 2019

Acceptance Date

March 3, 2020

Published in Issue

Year 2020 Volume: 37 Number: 3

APA
Erdoğan, Ş. (2020). Microplastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems: A case study from Turkey. Ege Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 37(3), 213-221. https://doi.org/10.12714/egejfas.37.3.02

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