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From December 2005 to November 2006, 216 samples were taken from the main channel of the Goiana Estuary, representing a total sampled area of 23 ha. Ariidae species were the most abundant in density (1600 individuals ha−1, 53%) and biomass (18 813 g ha−1, 63%). Cathorops spixii was the most abundant in density (1340 individuals ha−1) and biomass (14 203 g ha−1). The variables: number of species, total density and biomass, showed significant interactions between the factors of areas and seasons ( P < 0·01). The highest total density (7394 individuals ha−1) and biomass (70 292 g ha−1) occurred in the middle and upper estuaries, respectively, during the early-rainy season. The density of C. spixii differed significantly between areas and seasons ( P < 0·01), while Cathorops agassizii differed significantly only between seasons ( P < 0·01). The biomass differed significantly for the species C. spixii, C. agassizii and Sciades herzbergii between seasons, and C. spixii and C. agassizii between areas. Also, the density and biomass of C. spixii and C. agassizii showed interaction between areas and seasons. Only the biomass of S. herzbergii showed interaction between areas and seasons ( P < 0·01). This indicates that seasonal variations influenced the distribution of Ariidae species in the different areas of the Goiana Estuary. Moreover, canonical correspondence analysis highlighted a strongly significant correlation ( P < 0·01) between the seasonal variations of the environmental gradients (salinity and water temperature) and distribution of catfishes. The management and conservation of estuaries should take into account the life cycle of these species in different estuarine areas and hydrological seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastic pollution is a global issue. It is present even in remote and pristine coastal and marine environments, likely causing impacts of unknown scale. Microplastics are primary- and secondary-sourced plastics with diameters of 5 mm or less that are either free in the water column or mixed in sandy and muddy sediments. Since the early 1970s, they have been reported to pollute marine environments; recently, concern has increased as soaring amounts of microplastics in the oceans were detected and because the development of unprecedented processes involving this pollutant at sea is being unveiled. Coastal and marine environments of the western tropical and sub-tropical Atlantic Ocean (WTAO) are contaminated with microplastics at different quantities and from a variety of types. The main environmental compartments (water, sediments and biota) are contaminated, but the consequences are still poorly understood. Rivers and all scales of fishery activities are identified as the most likely sources of this pollutant to coastal waters; however, based on the types of microplastics observed, other maritime operations are also possible sources. Ingestion by marine biota occurs in the vertebrate groups (fish, birds, and turtles) in these environments. In addition, the presence of microplastics in plankton samples from different habitats of estuaries and oceanic islands is confirmed. The connectivity among environmental compartments regarding microplastic pollution is a new research frontier in the region.

Plastic marine debris is presently widely recognised as an important environmental pollutant. Such debris is reported in every habitat of the oceans, from urban tourist beaches to remote islands and from the ocean surface to submarine canyons, and is found buried and deposited on sandy and cobble beaches. Plastic marine debris varies from micrometres to several metres in length and is potentially ingested by animals of every level of the marine food web. Here, we show that synthetic polymers are present in subsurface plankton samples around Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago in the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean. To explain the distribution of microplastics around the Archipelago, we proposed a generalised linear model (GLM) that suggests the existence of an outward gradient of mean plastic-particle densities. Plastic items can be autochthonous or transported over large oceanic distances. One probable source is the small but persistent fishing fleet using the area., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)