PMID- 35944630
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20220929
LR  - 20220929
IS  - 1879-1026 (Electronic)
IS  - 0048-9697 (Linking)
VI  - 849
DP  - 2022 Nov 25
TI  - Plastic invasion tolling: First evaluation of microplastics in water and two crab 
      species from the nature reserve lagoonary complex of Kune-Vain, Albania.
PG  - 157799
LID - S0048-9697(22)04898-7 [pii]
LID - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157799 [doi]
AB  - Microplastic (MP) pollution is an emerging global challenge and actually has 
      become a reality in aquatic ecosystems in Albania. According to the World 
      Wildlife Fund (WWF) report of 2019, Albania, is one of the most problematic 
      countries, with the highest percentage of untreated plastic waste, 73 %, and one 
      of the top four countries with the highest norm of untreated plastic waste in the 
      Mediterranean. This study evaluates and characterizes for the first time the MPs 
      in water, sediment, and gastrointestinal tracts of two crab species, C. aestuarii 
      and C. sapidus, common inhabitants of the lagoonary complex of Kune-Vain Nature 
      Reserve, known for their important role in the lagoon ecosystem. The results 
      showed that all sampled crabs had MPs in their gut in an average of 11.0 +/- 1.85 
      items g(-1), while the total MPs content in water ranges from 370 to 750 MPs per 
      L(-1). No significant difference in the content of MPs between the two crab 
      species was found and a positive Pearson correlation, between microplastic 
      abundance in the water and in the crabs regardless of species, was confirmed. The 
      composition of microplastics showed consistency in crabs, sediment, and water, 
      with fibers and pellets as the dominant types followed by microbeads, and 
      fragments. Characterized MPs varied in size from <0.1 mm to 0.1-0.5 mm, showing 
      variable colors of black, blue, and red domination. Fourier Transform Infrared 
      Spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis of the chemical composition of microplastics 
      distinguished presence of the high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene 
      (PP), polyethylene (PE), and low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which showed 
      consistency in water, sediment, and crab samples. In conclusion, high levels of 
      MPs pollution observed in the Kune-Vain complex represent a serious threat to the 
      lagoon ecosystem and to the local inhabitants. Furthermore, studies on MPs' 
      impact on biota and local population health are urgently required.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
FAU - Aliko, Valbona
AU  - Aliko V
AD  - Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, 
      Boulevard "Zogu I", 25/1, Tirana, Albania; NanoAlb-Unit of Albanian Nanoscience 
      and Nanotechnology, Albanian Academy of Sciences, Tirana, Albania. Electronic 
      address: valbona.aliko@fshn.edu.al.
FAU - Beqiraj, Enkeleida Goga
AU  - Beqiraj EG
AD  - Department of Earth Sciences, Polytechnic University of Tirana, Boulevard 
      "Deshmoret e Kombit", Sheshi "Nene Tereza, No.4, Tirana, Albania.
FAU - Qirjo, Mihallaq
AU  - Qirjo M
AD  - Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, 
      Boulevard "Zogu I", 25/1, Tirana, Albania.
FAU - Cani, Megi
AU  - Cani M
AD  - Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, 
      Boulevard "Zogu I", 25/1, Tirana, Albania.
FAU - Rama, Ariol
AU  - Rama A
AD  - Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, 
      Boulevard "Zogu I", 25/1, Tirana, Albania.
FAU - Bego, Kristi
AU  - Bego K
AD  - Senckenberg Geselleschaft fur Naturforschung (SNG) Senckenberganlage, 25, 60325 
      Frankfurt, Germany.
FAU - Reka, Arianit
AU  - Reka A
AD  - Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University 
      of Tetovo, Macedonia; Department of Materials Science and Engineering Missouri 
      University of Science and Technology Rolla Missouri USA; NanoAlb-Unit of Albanian 
      Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Albanian Academy of Sciences, Tirana, Albania.
FAU - Faggio, Caterina
AU  - Faggio C
AD  - Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Sciences, 
      University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20220806
PL  - Netherlands
TA  - Sci Total Environ
JT  - The Science of the total environment
JID - 0330500
RN  - 0 (Microplastics)
RN  - 0 (Plastics)
RN  - 0 (Polypropylenes)
RN  - 0 (Water Pollutants, Chemical)
RN  - 059QF0KO0R (Water)
RN  - 9002-88-4 (Polyethylene)
SB  - IM
MH  - Albania
MH  - Animals
MH  - *Brachyura
MH  - Ecosystem
MH  - Environmental Monitoring/methods
MH  - Microplastics
MH  - Plastics/analysis
MH  - Polyethylene/analysis
MH  - Polypropylenes/analysis
MH  - Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
MH  - Water/analysis
MH  - *Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Callinectes sapidus
OT  - Carcinus aestuarii
OT  - Microplastic
OT  - Monitoring
OT  - Nature Reserve lagoon
COIS- Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known 
      competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared 
      to influence the work reported in this paper.
EDAT- 2022/08/10 06:00
MHDA- 2022/09/30 06:00
CRDT- 2022/08/09 19:32
PHST- 2022/06/19 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2022/07/21 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2022/07/30 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2022/08/10 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2022/09/30 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2022/08/09 19:32 [entrez]
AID - S0048-9697(22)04898-7 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157799 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Sci Total Environ. 2022 Nov 25;849:157799. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157799. 
      Epub 2022 Aug 6.