Scientific development of tools and strategies to ensure cost-effective limitations of nutrient and green-house gas emissions will of course remain a priority. GSK1120212 nmr The preparation of this paper has been supported by the CLEO project – Climate Change and Environmental Objectives through a grant by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, and by the Norden Top-level Research Initiative sub-programme ‘Effect Studies and Adaptation to Climate Change’ through the Nordic Centre Centre for Research on Marine Ecosystems and Resources under Climate Change (NorMER). “
“Annual global production of plastic products

has increased dramatically from 1.5 million tons in the 1950s to more than 250 million tons in 2011 (Wright et al., 2013). Mass production leads to plastic accumulation in terrestrial and aquatic habitats (Ryan et al., 2009 and Thompson et al., 2004), and plastics make up the largest segment of marine litter worldwide (Cole et al., 2011). As a major contaminant, marine plastic not only threatens the safety of maritime activities but also the health of the ecosystem (Maximenko Ponatinib datasheet et al., 2012). In recent years, small-sized plastic debris termed microplastic (MP, fragments less than 5 mm) (Moore, 2008) has been reported as a ubiquitous marine litter. Occupying the size range of plankton,

MP is available to a wide range of marine organisms (Lusher et al., 2012). Laboratory and field investigations showed that crustaceans, barnacles, lugworms, mussels, fishes and seals can ingest particles of MP (Boerger

et al., 2010, Browne et al., 2008, Cole et al., 2013, Jantz et al., 2013, Murray and Cowie, 2011 and Thompson et al., 2004). Ingested MP may result in physical harm within organisms, such as by internal abrasions and blockages. Besides the physical impact, toxicity could also arise from the leaching of plastic additives and POPs that are then absorbed from ambient seawater (Andrady, 2011 and Wright et al., 2013). MPs which enter the marine environment can be of primary (e.g., pellets and abrasive scrubbers used in cosmetics and granules used for air blasting) (Fendall and Sewell, before 2009 and Thompson et al., 2009) or secondary (breakdown of larger plastic items) origin (Wright et al., 2013). The occurrences of MP have been reported in different marine environments such as beaches, surface waters, water columns, benthic zones and shorelines (Hidalgo-Ruz et al., 2012). Plastics enter the marine environment mostly from land-based sources, often via estuaries (Ivar do Sul and Costa, 2013a). Industrial coastal marine environments and especially estuarine systems have been identified as MP hotspots (Browne et al., 2011 and Wright et al.