Belaoud, Thomas; Grand, Gaël; Colaço, Ana; Campanyà-Llovet, Neus (2026): Impacts of anthropic marine litter on worldwide marine fauna [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.993524 (DOI registration in progress)
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Published: 2026-06-15
Abstract:
This dataset aims to compile records of interactions between marine litter of anthropic origin and marine fauna at a global scale. The database includes observations extracted from published datasets and peer-reviewed literature, documenting interaction types (e.g. ingestion, entanglement), litter characteristics, and affected taxa. Temporal range of the data spans from the 1950s to 2021, corresponding to the dates of the original observations, while data compilation was conducted between January and April 2023. Records were assembled through a structured review and integration of existing data sources, and standardized into a unified format. An associated dataset provides biological and ecological traits of impacted species, linked to the main database. The data was collected in order to understand better the role of traits as factors of vulnerability against anthropic marine litter.
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References:
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Comment:
The file is an excel spreadsheet divided in different sheets : Interactions_db, Traits_db, Marine_LitterCategories, ThreatCategories, TraitsCategories, References, For_metadata.
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Interactions_db : this file contains a compilation of records describing interactions between marine litter of anthropogenic origin and marine fauna. Each row represents a reported interaction event and includes information on species identity, type of interaction (e.g. ingestion, entanglement), litter characteristics, source reference, and, where available, spatial and temporal details of the observation. Columns are explained in the For_metadata sheet.
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Traits_db : This file provides biological and ecological traits for species included in the marine litter interaction dataset. Traits are defined in the TraitsCategories sheet and may include habitat, feeding strategy, body size, and other characteristics used to assess species vulnerability to marine litter.
The trait_ref includes the source of information about the trait for the given species, and the trait_rank is a certainty score, explained in TraitsCategories, defining the certainty of the attribution of said trait to a species.
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Marine_LitterCategories : This sheet describes the classification of marine litter items used in the dataset. Litter items are grouped into predefined categories based on classifications applied in studies conducted in the Azores. Items that could not be assigned to these categories are classified as "Other".
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ThreatCategories : This table defines the categories of impacts of marine litter on marine fauna used in the dataset. Impact types were compiled from published studies and standardized into a set of predefined categories. Each distinct type of interaction between a species and marine litter is recorded once per source, regardless of the number of observations. For example, if a species was reported as both entangled in nets and using plastic as a substrate within the same study, this is recorded as two interaction types: entanglement (ENT) and use as substratum (SUB).
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TraitsCategories : This table defines the categories of biological and ecological traits assigned to species included in the dataset. Trait categories were compiled from published sources and standardized into a set of predefined variables.
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References : defines the references used to compile the interactions between fauna and marine litter, compile traits information, and define categories of marine litter, types of interactions of fauna and litter, and categories of traits to use.
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For_metadata : information used for metadata
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
282.2 kBytes