Title |
The flip-or-flop boutique: Marine debris on the shores of St Brandon's rock, an isolated tropical atoll in the Indian Ocean
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Published in |
Marine Environmental Research, January 2016
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DOI | 10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.12.013 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Hindrik Bouwman, Steven W. Evans, Nik Cole, Nee Sun Choong Kwet Yive, Henrik Kylin |
Abstract |
Isolated coral atolls are not immune from marine debris accumulation. We identified Southeast Asia, the Indian sub-continent, and the countries on the Arabian Sea as most probable source areas of 50 000 items on the shores of St. Brandon's Rock (SBR), Indian Ocean. 79% of the debris was plastics. Flip-flops, energy drink bottles, and compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) were notable item types. The density of debris (0.74 m(-)(1) shore length) is comparable to similar islands but less than mainland sites. Intact CFLs suggests product-facilitated long-range transport of mercury. We suspect that aggregated marine debris, scavenged by the islands from currents and gyres, could re-concentrate pollutants. SBR islets accumulated debris types in different proportions suggesting that many factors act variably on different debris types. Regular cleaning of selected islets will take care of most of the accumulated debris and may improve the ecology and tourism potential. However, arrangements and logistics require more study. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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United States | 1 | 11% |
Unknown | 8 | 89% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
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Members of the public | 8 | 89% |
Scientists | 1 | 11% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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Unknown | 143 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
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Researcher | 27 | 19% |
Student > Master | 25 | 17% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 19 | 13% |
Student > Bachelor | 15 | 10% |
Professor | 5 | 3% |
Other | 20 | 14% |
Unknown | 32 | 22% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
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Environmental Science | 48 | 34% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 19 | 13% |
Earth and Planetary Sciences | 7 | 5% |
Chemistry | 6 | 4% |
Engineering | 5 | 3% |
Other | 22 | 15% |
Unknown | 36 | 25% |