Impact with the
ecosystem
Within SeaCleaner, and in conjunction with the monitoring of marine litter conducted in the Pelagos Sanctuary area, studies were also conducted on the environmental impact of such materials on the ecosystem and on some protected species in the area.
Within SeaCleaner, and in conjunction with the monitoring of marine litter conducted in the Pelagos Sanctuary area, studies were also conducted on the environmental impact of such materials on the ecosystem and on some protected species in the area.
In particular, a comparative study was carried out on the presence of anthropogenic material in the nests of Sula (Morus Bassanus), a pelagic bird typical of the Atlantic coasts, which exceptionally nests in a small bay in the waters in front of Portovenere (La Spezia). The singular nesting is, together with another one in Carry-Le -Rouet, near Marseille, one of the only two present in the Mediterranean basin, and is particular for the choice of the site: a boat inside a marina, thus a highly anthropized area (Giagnoni et al. 2015, Merlino et al. 2018, Merlino and Massetti 2019 and Massetti et al. 2020). The presence of much, indeed too much, anthropogenic material in their nests represents a danger, especially for chicks (a term that, in ornithology, designates newborns). There is an abundance of plastic objects and, in a special way, of those which reproduce their natural correspondents, therefore flexible cords, filaments, ties, etc. But more than anything else, in the Portovenere area, a high percentage of mussel nets has been found in the nests; this activity, very widespread in the area, justifies the presence of a particular abundance of such objects in the waters and beaches of the area, compared to other surrounding areas (Merlino et al. 2018). Some of the objects used for nesting have been found to be harmful to the point of causing the death of a yearling juvenile and a chick, delaying the invading of others, and harming adults as well. The two nesting sites in the Mediterranean are constantly monitored and followed by volunteers from the associations LIPU (Lega Italiana Protezione Uccelli) and LPO-PACA (Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux, région Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur, France), and thanks to the collaboration with these associations it was possible to perform a comparative study of the two nests in three years, from 2017 to 2019, to study the composition of the materials with which the nests are built, to identify which anthropogenic materials are most used in the two cases, and to relate them to the main sources of pollution in the two nesting areas. In addition, in order to identify the categories of polymer most present in the nests, polymeric characterizations were made on the AMDs using infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR).
In particular, a comparative study was carried out on the presence of anthropogenic material in the nests of Sula (Morus Bassanus), a pelagic bird typical of the Atlantic coasts, which exceptionally nests in a small bay in the waters in front of Portovenere (La Spezia). The singular nesting is, together with another one in Carry-Le -Rouet, near Marseille, one of the only two present in the Mediterranean basin, and is particular for the choice of the site: a boat inside a marina, thus a highly anthropized area (Giagnoni et al. 2015, Merlino et al. 2018, Merlino and Massetti 2019 and Massetti et al. 2020). The presence of much, indeed too much, anthropogenic material in their nests represents a danger, especially for chicks (a term that, in ornithology, designates newborns). There is an abundance of plastic objects and, in a special way, of those which reproduce their natural correspondents, therefore flexible cords, filaments, ties, etc. But more than anything else, in the Portovenere area, a high percentage of mussel nets has been found in the nests; this activity, very widespread in the area, justifies the presence of a particular abundance of such objects in the waters and beaches of the area, compared to other surrounding areas (Merlino et al. 2018). Some of the objects used for nesting have been found to be harmful to the point of causing the death of a yearling juvenile and a chick, delaying the invading of others, and harming adults as well. The two nesting sites in the Mediterranean are constantly monitored and followed by volunteers from the associations LIPU (Lega Italiana Protezione Uccelli) and LPO-PACA (Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux, région Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur, France), and thanks to the collaboration with these associations it was possible to perform a comparative study of the two nests in three years, from 2017 to 2019, to study the composition of the materials with which the nests are built, to identify which anthropogenic materials are most used in the two cases, and to relate them to the main sources of pollution in the two nesting areas. In addition, in order to identify the categories of polymer most present in the nests, polymeric characterizations were made on the AMDs using infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR).
Photo LIPU-La Spezia and LPO-PACA
Photo LIPU-La Spezia and LPO-PACA