TY - JOUR

T1 - Plastic debris in lakes and reservoirs

AU - Nava, Veronica

AU - Chandra, Sudeep

AU - Aherne, Julian

AU - Alfonso, María B.

AU - Antão-Geraldes, Ana M.

AU - Attermeyer, Katrin

AU - Bao, Roberto

AU - Bartrons, Mireia

AU - Berger, Stella A.

AU - Biernaczyk, Marcin

AU - Bissen, Raphael

AU - Brookes, Justin D.

AU - Brown, David

AU - Cañedo-Argüelles, Miguel

AU - Canle, Moisés

AU - Capelli, Camilla

AU - Carballeira, Rafael

AU - Cereijo, José Luis

AU - Chawchai, Sakonvan

AU - Christensen, Søren T.

AU - Christoffersen, Kirsten S.

AU - de Eyto, Elvira

AU - Delgado, Jorge

AU - Dornan, Tyler N.

AU - Doubek, Jonathan P.

AU - Dusaucy, Julia

AU - Erina, Oxana

AU - Ersoy, Zeynep

AU - Feuchtmayr, Heidrun

AU - Frezzotti, Maria Luce

AU - Galafassi, Silvia

AU - Gateuille, David

AU - Gonçalves, Vitor

AU - Grossart, Hans Peter

AU - Hamilton, David P.

AU - Harris, Ted D.

AU - Kangur, Külli

AU - Kankılıç, Gökben Başaran

AU - Kessler, Rebecca

AU - Kiel, Christine

AU - Krynak, Edward M.

AU - Leiva-Presa, Àngels

AU - Lepori, Fabio

AU - Matias, Miguel G.

AU - Matsuzaki, Shin Ichiro S.

AU - McElarney, Yvonne

AU - Messyasz, Beata

AU - Mitchell, Mark

AU - Mlambo, Musa C.

AU - Motitsoe, Samuel N.

AU - Nandini, Sarma

AU - Orlandi, Valentina

AU - Owens, Caroline

AU - Özkundakci, Deniz

AU - Pinnow, Solvig

AU - Pociecha, Agnieszka

AU - Raposeiro, Pedro Miguel

AU - Rõõm, Eva Ingrid

AU - Rotta, Federica

AU - Salmaso, Nico

AU - Sarma, S. S.S.

AU - Sartirana, Davide

AU - Scordo, Facundo

AU - Sibomana, Claver

AU - Siewert, Daniel

AU - Stepanowska, Katarzyna

AU - Tavşanoğlu, Ülkü Nihan

AU - Tereshina, Maria

AU - Thompson, James

AU - Tolotti, Monica

AU - Valois, Amanda

AU - Verburg, Piet

AU - Welsh, Brittany

AU - Wesolek, Brian

AU - Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A.

AU - Wu, Naicheng

AU - Zawisza, Edyta

AU - Zink, Lauren

AU - Leoni, Barbara

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Plastic debris is thought to be widespread in freshwater ecosystems globally1. However, a lack of comprehensive and comparable data makes rigorous assessment of its distribution challenging2,3. Here we present a standardized cross-national survey that assesses the abundance and type of plastic debris (>250 μm) in freshwater ecosystems. We sample surface waters of 38 lakes and reservoirs, distributed across gradients of geographical position and limnological attributes, with the aim to identify factors associated with an increased observation of plastics. We find plastic debris in all studied lakes and reservoirs, suggesting that these ecosystems play a key role in the plastic-pollution cycle. Our results indicate that two types of lakes are particularly vulnerable to plastic contamination: lakes and reservoirs in densely populated and urbanized areas and large lakes and reservoirs with elevated deposition areas, long water-retention times and high levels of anthropogenic influence. Plastic concentrations vary widely among lakes; in the most polluted, concentrations reach or even exceed those reported in the subtropical oceanic gyres, marine areas collecting large amounts of debris4. Our findings highlight the importance of including lakes and reservoirs when addressing plastic pollution, in the context of pollution management and for the continued provision of lake ecosystem services.

AB - Plastic debris is thought to be widespread in freshwater ecosystems globally1. However, a lack of comprehensive and comparable data makes rigorous assessment of its distribution challenging2,3. Here we present a standardized cross-national survey that assesses the abundance and type of plastic debris (>250 μm) in freshwater ecosystems. We sample surface waters of 38 lakes and reservoirs, distributed across gradients of geographical position and limnological attributes, with the aim to identify factors associated with an increased observation of plastics. We find plastic debris in all studied lakes and reservoirs, suggesting that these ecosystems play a key role in the plastic-pollution cycle. Our results indicate that two types of lakes are particularly vulnerable to plastic contamination: lakes and reservoirs in densely populated and urbanized areas and large lakes and reservoirs with elevated deposition areas, long water-retention times and high levels of anthropogenic influence. Plastic concentrations vary widely among lakes; in the most polluted, concentrations reach or even exceed those reported in the subtropical oceanic gyres, marine areas collecting large amounts of debris4. Our findings highlight the importance of including lakes and reservoirs when addressing plastic pollution, in the context of pollution management and for the continued provision of lake ecosystem services.

U2 - 10.1038/s41586-023-06168-4

DO - 10.1038/s41586-023-06168-4

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37438590

AN - SCOPUS:85164541176

VL - 619

SP - 317

EP - 322

JO - Nature Genetics

JF - Nature Genetics

SN - 1061-4036

ER -