Distinct microplastic patterns in the sediment and biota of an urban stream.

Urban freshwaters, their sediments and resident biota are often highly susceptible to microplastic contamination from catchment-specific sources. Water velocity and spatiotemporal dynamics within the system can impact microplastic loads, while biological features may additionally impact levels within freshwater biota. Here, we investigated the spatiotemporal variations in microplastic loads collected from sediment, macroinvertebrate and fish samples from an urban watercourse (Bourne Stream) in Dorset, southwest England. Sediment particles were mostly fragments of colours (especially orange and purple) whereas microplastics in both macroinvertebrates and fishes were blue/green and fibres. Across all sample types, the dominant particle size class was ≤100 μm. Median (M) and range (R) of microplastic loads within each sample type were sediment: M = 0.06, R = 0-0.36 particles g

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Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.