Academic Journal
View in EDS

Contrasting macro- and meso-litter accumulation in managed and unmanaged beach sectors of the northwestern Adriatic Sea.

Bibliographic Details
Title: Contrasting macro- and meso-litter accumulation in managed and unmanaged beach sectors of the northwestern Adriatic Sea.
Authors: Passetti JP; Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Urbino, Campus E.Mattei, 61029, Urbino, Italy. j.passetti@campus.uniurb.it., Varricchione M; EnviXLab, Department of Biosciences and Territory, Contrada Fonte Lappone, University of Molise, Via Duca Degli Abruzzi, I-86039 , I-86090, Pesche, IS, Italy., de Francesco MC; EnviXLab, Department of Biosciences and Territory, Contrada Fonte Lappone, University of Molise, Via Duca Degli Abruzzi, I-86039 , I-86090, Pesche, IS, Italy., Carranza ML; EnviXLab, Department of Biosciences and Territory, Contrada Fonte Lappone, University of Molise, Via Duca Degli Abruzzi, I-86039 , I-86090, Pesche, IS, Italy., Penna A; Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino, Campus Enrico Mattei, Via Ca Le Suore, 2/4, 61029, Urbino, Italy.; CoNISMa, National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences, Piazzale Flaminio, 6, 00184, Rome, Italy.; Fano Marine Center, The Inter-Institute Center for Research On Marine Biodiversity, Resources and Biotechnologies (FMC), Viale Adriatico, 1, 61032, Fano, Italy., Casabianca S; Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino, Campus Enrico Mattei, Via Ca Le Suore, 2/4, 61029, Urbino, Italy. silvia.casabianca@uniurb.it.; CoNISMa, National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences, Piazzale Flaminio, 6, 00184, Rome, Italy. silvia.casabianca@uniurb.it.; Fano Marine Center, The Inter-Institute Center for Research On Marine Biodiversity, Resources and Biotechnologies (FMC), Viale Adriatico, 1, 61032, Fano, Italy. silvia.casabianca@uniurb.it.
Source: Environmental monitoring and assessment [Environ Monit Assess] 2026 Oct 07; Vol. 198 (11). Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Oct 07.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Language: English
Journal Info: Publisher: Springer Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 8508350 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1573-2959 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01676369 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Environ Monit Assess Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Publication: 1998- : Dordrecht : Springer
Original Publication: Dordrecht, Holland ; Boston : D. Reidel Pub. Co., c1981-
MeSH Terms: Bathing Beaches*/statistics & numerical data , Waste Products*/analysis , Waste Products*/statistics & numerical data , Environmental Monitoring*, Italy ; Seashore
Abstract: Beach management practices are widely implemented in coastal environments, yet their association with litter size structure remains poorly understood. We evaluated macro- and meso-litter across vegetated (unmanaged) and non-vegetated (managed) beach areas along the northwestern Adriatic coast (Italy) through seasonal stratified surveys comprising 448 plot-level sampling events across 112 plots. Meso-litter accounted for approximately 84% of all recorded items. Negative binomial generalized linear mixed models revealed a significant interaction between litter size class and area type (p < 0.001). Macro-litter abundance was 53% lower in non-vegetated areas (p < 0.001), whereas meso-litter abundance did not differ significantly between area types (p = 0.539). Binomial mixed models further indicated a higher predicted proportion of meso-litter within the combined meso- plus macro-litter total in non-vegetated areas (OR = 2.70, p < 0.001), revealing a compositional shift toward smaller debris fractions in managed beach sectors. These findings suggest that beach management is associated with changes in litter size structure and that monitoring approaches based exclusively on macro-litter may not fully capture variation in coastal litter composition. Incorporating meso-litter into monitoring programs could therefore improve assessments of coastal litter dynamics and support more comprehensive management strategies.
(© 2026. The Author(s).)
Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical responsibilities of authors: The authors have read and complied with the Ethical Responsibilities of Authors as outlined in the journal’s submission guidelines. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests.
References: Andriolo, U., & Gonçalves, G. (2022). Is coastal erosion a source of marine litter pollution? Evidence of coastal dunes being a reservoir of plastics. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 174, Article 113307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113307. (PMID: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113307)
Boerger, C. M., Lattin, G. L., Moore, S. L., & Moore, C. J. (2010). Plastic ingestion by planktivorous fishes in the North Pacific Central Gyre. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 60(12), 2275–2278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.08.007. (PMID: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.08.007)
Calderisi, G., Cogoni, D., & Fenu, G. (2024). Assessing beach litter trapping efficiency in Mediterranean sandy coasts: A comparative study between typical and invaded embryonic dunes. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 74, Article 103532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2024.103532. (PMID: 10.1016/j.rsma.2024.103532)
Camedda, A., Marra, S., Matiddi, M., Massaro, G., Coppa, S., Perilli, A., Ruiu, A., Briguglio, P., & de Lucia, G. A. (2014). Interaction between loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and marine litter in Sardinia (Western Mediterranean Sea). Marine Environmental Research, 100, 25–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2013.12.004. (PMID: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2013.12.004)
Commission, O. S. P. A. R. (2010). Guideline for monitoring marine litter on the beaches in the OSPAR maritime area. OSPAR Commission.
Cózar, A., Echevarría, F., González-Gordillo, J. I., Irigoien, X., Úbeda, B., Hernández-León, S., Palma, Á., Navarro, S., García-de-Lomas, J., Ruiz, A., Fernández-de-Puelles, M. L., & Duarte, C. M. (2014). Plastic debris in the open ocean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(28), 10239–10244. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1314705111. (PMID: 10.1073/pnas.1314705111)
de Francesco, M. C., Carranza, M. L., & Stanisci, A. (2018). Beach litter in Mediterranean coastal dunes: An insight on the Adriatic coast (central Italy). Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali, 29, 825–830. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-018-0740-5. (PMID: 10.1007/s12210-018-0740-5)
de Francesco, M. C., Carranza, M. L., Varricchione, M., Tozzi, F. P., & Stanisci, A. (2019). Natural protected areas as special sentinels of littering on coastal dune vegetation. Sustainability, 11(19), Article 5446. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11195446. (PMID: 10.3390/su11195446)
Derraik, J. G. B. (2002). The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: A review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 44(9), 842–852. (PMID: 10.1016/S0025-326X(02)00220-5)
Di Febbraro, M., Frate, L., de Francesco, M. C., Stanisci, A., Tozzi, F. P., Varricchione, M., & Carranza, M. L. (2021). Modelling beach litter accumulation on Mediterranean coastal landscape: An integrative framework using species distribution models. Land, 10(1), Article 54. (PMID: 10.3390/land10010054)
Eriksen, M., Lebreton, L. C. M., Carson, H. S., Thiel, M., Moore, C. J., Borerro, J. C., Galgani, F., Ryan, P. G., & Reisser, J. (2014). Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans: More than 5 trillion plastic pieces weighing over 250,000 tons afloat at sea. PLoS ONE, 9(12), Article e111913. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0111913. (PMID: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111913)
Fleet, D., Vlachogianni, T., Hanke, G., & Galgani, F. (2021). Marine litter. MSFD guidance on monitoring of marine litter in European seas. European Commission, Joint Research Centre.
Galgani, F., Hanke, G., & Maes, T. (2015). Global distribution, composition and abundance of marine litter. In M. Bergmann, L. Gutow, & M. Klages (Eds.), Marine anthropogenic litter (pp. 29–56). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16510-3&#95;2.
Galgani, F., Hanke, G., Werner, S., & De Vrees, L. (2013). Marine litter within the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70(6), 1055–1064. (PMID: 10.1093/icesjms/fst122)
Galgani, F., Lusher, A. L., Strand, J., Haarr, M. L., Vinci, M., Molina Jack, E., Kagi, R., Aliani, S., Herzke, D., Nikiforov, V., Primpke, S., Schmidt, N., Fabres, J., De Witte, B., Solbakken, V. S., & van Bavel, B. (2024). Revisiting the strategy for marine litter monitoring within the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Ocean & Coastal Management, 255, Article 107254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2024.107254. (PMID: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2024.107254)
Gall, S. C., & Thompson, R. C. (2015). The impact of debris on marine life. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 92(1–2), 170–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.12.041. (PMID: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.12.041)
Gallitelli, L., D’Agostino, M., Battisti, C., Cózar, A., & Scalici, M. (2023). Dune plants as a sink for beach litter: The species-specific role and edge effect on litter entrapment by plants. Science of the Total Environment, 904, Article 166756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166756. (PMID: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166756)
WWF Italia. (2023, October 8). Pulizia dell’area floristica protetta Baia del Re.
Lenth, R. V. (2024). emmeans: Estimated marginal means, aka least-squares means. R Package Version, 2, 3.
R Core Team (2025) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/.
Suaria, G., Avio, C. G., Mineo, A., Lattin, G. L., Magaldi, M. G., Belmonte, G., Moore, C. J., Regoli, F., & Aliani, S. (2016). The Mediterranean plastic soup: Synthetic polymers in Mediterranean surface waters. Scientific Reports, 6, Article 37551. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep37551. (PMID: 10.1038/srep37551)
UNEP/MAP. (2015). Marine litter assessment in the Mediterranean. United Nations Environment Programme – Mediterranean Action Plan.
Ver Hoef, J. M., & Boveng, P. L. (2007). Quasi-Poisson vs. negative binomial regression: How should we model overdispersed count data? Ecology, 88(11), 2766–2772. https://doi.org/10.1890/07-0043.1. (PMID: 10.1890/07-0043.1)
Vlachogianni, T., Fortibuoni, T., Ronchi, F., Zeri, C., Mazziotti, C., Tutman, P., Bojanić Varezić, D., Palatinus, A., Trdan, Š, Peterlin, M., Mandić, M., Markovic, O., Prvan, M., Kaberi, H., Prevenios, M., Kolitari, J., Kroqi, G., Fusco, M., Kalampokis, E., & Scoullos, M. (2018). Marine litter on the beaches of the Adriatic and Ionian seas: An assessment of their abundance, composition and sources. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 131(Part A), 745–756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.05.006. (PMID: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.05.006)
Wilcox, C., Van Sebille, E., & Hardesty, B. D. (2015). Threat of plastic pollution to seabirds is global, pervasive, and increasing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(38), 11899–11904. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1502108112. (PMID: 10.1073/pnas.1502108112)
Zielinski, S., Botero, C. M., & Yanes, A. (2019). To clean or not to clean? A critical review of beach cleaning methods and impacts. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 139, 390–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.12.027. (PMID: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.12.027)
Zuur, A. F., Ieno, E. N., Walker, N., Saveliev, A. A., & Smith, G. M. (2009). Mixed effects models and extensions in ecology with R. Springer. (PMID: 10.1007/978-0-387-87458-6)
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: Beach management; Coastal monitoring; Litter size structure; Marine litter; Marine spatial planning; Plastic debris fragmentation
Substance Nomenclature: 0 (Waste Products)
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20261007 Date Completed: 20261007 Latest Revision: 20261007
Update Code: 20261008
DOI: 10.1007/s10661-026-16011-8
PMID: 42842055
Database: MEDLINE
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
CustomLinks:
  – Url: https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1007/s10661-026-16011-8
    Name: EDS - Springer Nature Journals (s7799221)
    Category: fullText
    Text: View record at Springer
  – Url: https://resolver.ebsco.com/c/fiv2js/result?sid=EBSCO:cmedm&genre=article&issn=15732959&ISBN=&volume=198&issue=11&date=20261007&spage=&pages=&title=Environmental monitoring and assessment&atitle=Contrasting%20macro-%20and%20meso-litter%20accumulation%20in%20managed%20and%20unmanaged%20beach%20sectors%20of%20the%20northwestern%20Adriatic%20Sea.&aulast=Passetti%20JP&id=DOI:10.1007/s10661-026-16011-8
    Name: Full Text Finder (for New FTF UI) (ns324271)
    Category: fullText
    Text: Full Text Finder
    MouseOverText: Full Text Finder
Header DbId: cmedm
DbLabel: MEDLINE
An: 42842055
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Contrasting macro- and meso-litter accumulation in managed and unmanaged beach sectors of the northwestern Adriatic Sea.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AU&quot; term=&quot;%22Passetti+JP%22&quot;&gt;Passetti JP&lt;/searchLink&gt;; Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Urbino, Campus E.Mattei, 61029, Urbino, Italy. j.passetti@campus.uniurb.it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AU&quot; term=&quot;%22Varricchione+M%22&quot;&gt;Varricchione M&lt;/searchLink&gt;; EnviXLab, Department of Biosciences and Territory, Contrada Fonte Lappone, University of Molise, Via Duca Degli Abruzzi, I-86039 , I-86090, Pesche, IS, Italy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AU&quot; term=&quot;%22de+Francesco+MC%22&quot;&gt;de Francesco MC&lt;/searchLink&gt;; EnviXLab, Department of Biosciences and Territory, Contrada Fonte Lappone, University of Molise, Via Duca Degli Abruzzi, I-86039 , I-86090, Pesche, IS, Italy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AU&quot; term=&quot;%22Carranza+ML%22&quot;&gt;Carranza ML&lt;/searchLink&gt;; EnviXLab, Department of Biosciences and Territory, Contrada Fonte Lappone, University of Molise, Via Duca Degli Abruzzi, I-86039 , I-86090, Pesche, IS, Italy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AU&quot; term=&quot;%22Penna+A%22&quot;&gt;Penna A&lt;/searchLink&gt;; Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino, Campus Enrico Mattei, Via Ca Le Suore, 2/4, 61029, Urbino, Italy.; CoNISMa, National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences, Piazzale Flaminio, 6, 00184, Rome, Italy.; Fano Marine Center, The Inter-Institute Center for Research On Marine Biodiversity, Resources and Biotechnologies (FMC), Viale Adriatico, 1, 61032, Fano, Italy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AU&quot; term=&quot;%22Casabianca+S%22&quot;&gt;Casabianca S&lt;/searchLink&gt;; Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino, Campus Enrico Mattei, Via Ca Le Suore, 2/4, 61029, Urbino, Italy. silvia.casabianca@uniurb.it.; CoNISMa, National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences, Piazzale Flaminio, 6, 00184, Rome, Italy. silvia.casabianca@uniurb.it.; Fano Marine Center, The Inter-Institute Center for Research On Marine Biodiversity, Resources and Biotechnologies (FMC), Viale Adriatico, 1, 61032, Fano, Italy. silvia.casabianca@uniurb.it.
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;JN&quot; term=&quot;%228508350%22&quot;&gt;Environmental monitoring and assessment&lt;/searchLink&gt; [Environ Monit Assess] 2026 Oct 07; Vol. 198 (11). &lt;i&gt;Date of Electronic Publication: &lt;/i&gt;2026 Oct 07.
– Name: TypePub
  Label: Publication Type
  Group: TypPub
  Data: Journal Article
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Journal Info
  Group: Src
  Data: &lt;i&gt;Publisher: &lt;/i&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PB&quot; term=&quot;%22Springer%22&quot;&gt;Springer &lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;i&gt;Country of Publication: &lt;/i&gt;Netherlands &lt;i&gt;NLM ID: &lt;/i&gt;8508350 &lt;i&gt;Publication Model: &lt;/i&gt;Electronic &lt;i&gt;Cited Medium: &lt;/i&gt;Internet &lt;i&gt;ISSN: &lt;/i&gt;1573-2959 (Electronic) &lt;i&gt;Linking ISSN: &lt;/i&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;IS&quot; term=&quot;%2201676369%22&quot;&gt;01676369 &lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;i&gt;NLM ISO Abbreviation: &lt;/i&gt;Environ Monit Assess &lt;i&gt;Subsets: &lt;/i&gt;MEDLINE
– Name: PublisherInfo
  Label: Imprint Name(s)
  Group: PubInfo
  Data: &lt;i&gt;Publication&lt;/i&gt;: 1998- : Dordrecht : Springer&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Original Publication&lt;/i&gt;: Dordrecht, Holland ; Boston : D. Reidel Pub. Co., c1981-
– Name: SubjectMESH
  Label: MeSH Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;MM&quot; term=&quot;%22Bathing+Beaches%22&quot;&gt;Bathing Beaches*&lt;/searchLink&gt;/&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;MM&quot; term=&quot;%22Bathing+Beaches+statistics+%26+numerical+data%22&quot;&gt;statistics &amp; numerical data&lt;/searchLink&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;MM&quot; term=&quot;%22Waste+Products%22&quot;&gt;Waste Products*&lt;/searchLink&gt;/&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;MM&quot; term=&quot;%22Waste+Products+analysis%22&quot;&gt;analysis&lt;/searchLink&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;MM&quot; term=&quot;%22Waste+Products%22&quot;&gt;Waste Products*&lt;/searchLink&gt;/&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;MM&quot; term=&quot;%22Waste+Products+statistics+%26+numerical+data%22&quot;&gt;statistics &amp; numerical data&lt;/searchLink&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;MM&quot; term=&quot;%22Environmental+Monitoring%22&quot;&gt;Environmental Monitoring*&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;MH&quot; term=&quot;%22Italy%22&quot;&gt;Italy&lt;/searchLink&gt; ; &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;MH&quot; term=&quot;%22Seashore%22&quot;&gt;Seashore&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Beach management practices are widely implemented in coastal environments, yet their association with litter size structure remains poorly understood. We evaluated macro- and meso-litter across vegetated (unmanaged) and non-vegetated (managed) beach areas along the northwestern Adriatic coast (Italy) through seasonal stratified surveys comprising 448 plot-level sampling events across 112 plots. Meso-litter accounted for approximately 84% of all recorded items. Negative binomial generalized linear mixed models revealed a significant interaction between litter size class and area type (p &amp;lt; 0.001). Macro-litter abundance was 53% lower in non-vegetated areas (p &amp;lt; 0.001), whereas meso-litter abundance did not differ significantly between area types (p = 0.539). Binomial mixed models further indicated a higher predicted proportion of meso-litter within the combined meso- plus macro-litter total in non-vegetated areas (OR = 2.70, p &amp;lt; 0.001), revealing a compositional shift toward smaller debris fractions in managed beach sectors. These findings suggest that beach management is associated with changes in litter size structure and that monitoring approaches based exclusively on macro-litter may not fully capture variation in coastal litter composition. Incorporating meso-litter into monitoring programs could therefore improve assessments of coastal litter dynamics and support more comprehensive management strategies.&lt;br /&gt; (&#169; 2026. The Author(s).)
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Competing Interests
  Group: Ab
  Data: Declarations. Ethical responsibilities of authors: The authors have read and complied with the Ethical Responsibilities of Authors as outlined in the journal’s submission guidelines. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests.
– Name: Ref
  Label: References
  Group: RefInfo
  Data: Andriolo, U., &amp; Gon&#231;alves, G. (2022). Is coastal erosion a source of marine litter pollution? Evidence of coastal dunes being a reservoir of plastics. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 174, Article 113307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113307. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1016%2Fj%2Emarpolbul%2E2021%2E113307%22&quot;&gt;10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113307)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Boerger, C. M., Lattin, G. L., Moore, S. L., &amp; Moore, C. J. (2010). Plastic ingestion by planktivorous fishes in the North Pacific Central Gyre. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 60(12), 2275–2278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.08.007. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1016%2Fj%2Emarpolbul%2E2010%2E08%2E007%22&quot;&gt;10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.08.007)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Calderisi, G., Cogoni, D., &amp; Fenu, G. (2024). Assessing beach litter trapping efficiency in Mediterranean sandy coasts: A comparative study between typical and invaded embryonic dunes. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 74, Article 103532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2024.103532. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1016%2Fj%2Ersma%2E2024%2E103532%22&quot;&gt;10.1016/j.rsma.2024.103532)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Camedda, A., Marra, S., Matiddi, M., Massaro, G., Coppa, S., Perilli, A., Ruiu, A., Briguglio, P., &amp; de Lucia, G. A. (2014). Interaction between loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and marine litter in Sardinia (Western Mediterranean Sea). Marine Environmental Research, 100, 25–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2013.12.004. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1016%2Fj%2Emarenvres%2E2013%2E12%2E004%22&quot;&gt;10.1016/j.marenvres.2013.12.004)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Commission, O. S. P. A. R. (2010). Guideline for monitoring marine litter on the beaches in the OSPAR maritime area. OSPAR Commission.&lt;br /&gt;C&#243;zar, A., Echevarr&#237;a, F., Gonz&#225;lez-Gordillo, J. I., Irigoien, X., &#218;beda, B., Hern&#225;ndez-Le&#243;n, S., Palma, &#193;., Navarro, S., Garc&#237;a-de-Lomas, J., Ruiz, A., Fern&#225;ndez-de-Puelles, M. L., &amp; Duarte, C. M. (2014). Plastic debris in the open ocean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(28), 10239–10244. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1314705111. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1073%2Fpnas%2E1314705111%22&quot;&gt;10.1073/pnas.1314705111)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;de Francesco, M. C., Carranza, M. L., &amp; Stanisci, A. (2018). Beach litter in Mediterranean coastal dunes: An insight on the Adriatic coast (central Italy). Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali, 29, 825–830. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-018-0740-5. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1007%2Fs12210-018-0740-5%22&quot;&gt;10.1007/s12210-018-0740-5)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;de Francesco, M. C., Carranza, M. L., Varricchione, M., Tozzi, F. P., &amp; Stanisci, A. (2019). Natural protected areas as special sentinels of littering on coastal dune vegetation. Sustainability, 11(19), Article 5446. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11195446. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E3390%2Fsu11195446%22&quot;&gt;10.3390/su11195446)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Derraik, J. G. B. (2002). The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: A review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 44(9), 842–852. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1016%2FS0025-326X%2802%2900220-5%22&quot;&gt;10.1016/S0025-326X(02)00220-5)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Di Febbraro, M., Frate, L., de Francesco, M. C., Stanisci, A., Tozzi, F. P., Varricchione, M., &amp; Carranza, M. L. (2021). Modelling beach litter accumulation on Mediterranean coastal landscape: An integrative framework using species distribution models. Land, 10(1), Article 54. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E3390%2Fland10010054%22&quot;&gt;10.3390/land10010054)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Eriksen, M., Lebreton, L. C. M., Carson, H. S., Thiel, M., Moore, C. J., Borerro, J. C., Galgani, F., Ryan, P. G., &amp; Reisser, J. (2014). Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans: More than 5 trillion plastic pieces weighing over 250,000 tons afloat at sea. PLoS ONE, 9(12), Article e111913. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0111913. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1371%2Fjournal%2Epone%2E0111913%22&quot;&gt;10.1371/journal.pone.0111913)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Fleet, D., Vlachogianni, T., Hanke, G., &amp; Galgani, F. (2021). Marine litter. MSFD guidance on monitoring of marine litter in European seas. European Commission, Joint Research Centre.&lt;br /&gt;Galgani, F., Hanke, G., &amp; Maes, T. (2015). Global distribution, composition and abundance of marine litter. In M. Bergmann, L. Gutow, &amp; M. Klages (Eds.), Marine anthropogenic litter (pp. 29–56). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16510-3&amp;#95;2.&lt;br /&gt;Galgani, F., Hanke, G., Werner, S., &amp; De Vrees, L. (2013). Marine litter within the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70(6), 1055–1064. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1093%2Ficesjms%2Ffst122%22&quot;&gt;10.1093/icesjms/fst122)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Galgani, F., Lusher, A. L., Strand, J., Haarr, M. L., Vinci, M., Molina Jack, E., Kagi, R., Aliani, S., Herzke, D., Nikiforov, V., Primpke, S., Schmidt, N., Fabres, J., De Witte, B., Solbakken, V. S., &amp; van Bavel, B. (2024). Revisiting the strategy for marine litter monitoring within the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Ocean &amp; Coastal Management, 255, Article 107254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2024.107254. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1016%2Fj%2Eocecoaman%2E2024%2E107254%22&quot;&gt;10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2024.107254)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Gall, S. C., &amp; Thompson, R. C. (2015). The impact of debris on marine life. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 92(1–2), 170–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.12.041. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1016%2Fj%2Emarpolbul%2E2014%2E12%2E041%22&quot;&gt;10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.12.041)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Gallitelli, L., D’Agostino, M., Battisti, C., C&#243;zar, A., &amp; Scalici, M. (2023). Dune plants as a sink for beach litter: The species-specific role and edge effect on litter entrapment by plants. Science of the Total Environment, 904, Article 166756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166756. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1016%2Fj%2Escitotenv%2E2023%2E166756%22&quot;&gt;10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166756)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;WWF Italia. (2023, October 8). Pulizia dell’area floristica protetta Baia del Re.&lt;br /&gt;Lenth, R. V. (2024). emmeans: Estimated marginal means, aka least-squares means. R Package Version, 2, 3.&lt;br /&gt;R Core Team (2025) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/.&lt;br /&gt;Suaria, G., Avio, C. G., Mineo, A., Lattin, G. L., Magaldi, M. G., Belmonte, G., Moore, C. J., Regoli, F., &amp; Aliani, S. (2016). The Mediterranean plastic soup: Synthetic polymers in Mediterranean surface waters. Scientific Reports, 6, Article 37551. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep37551. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1038%2Fsrep37551%22&quot;&gt;10.1038/srep37551)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;UNEP/MAP. (2015). Marine litter assessment in the Mediterranean. United Nations Environment Programme – Mediterranean Action Plan.&lt;br /&gt;Ver Hoef, J. M., &amp; Boveng, P. L. (2007). Quasi-Poisson vs. negative binomial regression: How should we model overdispersed count data? Ecology, 88(11), 2766–2772. https://doi.org/10.1890/07-0043.1. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1890%2F07-0043%2E1%22&quot;&gt;10.1890/07-0043.1)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Vlachogianni, T., Fortibuoni, T., Ronchi, F., Zeri, C., Mazziotti, C., Tutman, P., Bojanić Varezić, D., Palatinus, A., Trdan, Š, Peterlin, M., Mandić, M., Markovic, O., Prvan, M., Kaberi, H., Prevenios, M., Kolitari, J., Kroqi, G., Fusco, M., Kalampokis, E., &amp; Scoullos, M. (2018). Marine litter on the beaches of the Adriatic and Ionian seas: An assessment of their abundance, composition and sources. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 131(Part A), 745–756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.05.006. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1016%2Fj%2Emarpolbul%2E2018%2E05%2E006%22&quot;&gt;10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.05.006)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wilcox, C., Van Sebille, E., &amp; Hardesty, B. D. (2015). Threat of plastic pollution to seabirds is global, pervasive, and increasing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(38), 11899–11904. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1502108112. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1073%2Fpnas%2E1502108112%22&quot;&gt;10.1073/pnas.1502108112)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Zielinski, S., Botero, C. M., &amp; Yanes, A. (2019). To clean or not to clean? A critical review of beach cleaning methods and impacts. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 139, 390–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.12.027. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1016%2Fj%2Emarpolbul%2E2018%2E12%2E027%22&quot;&gt;10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.12.027)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Zuur, A. F., Ieno, E. N., Walker, N., Saveliev, A. A., &amp; Smith, G. M. (2009). Mixed effects models and extensions in ecology with R. Springer. (PMID: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;PM&quot; term=&quot;%2210%2E1007%2F978-0-387-87458-6%22&quot;&gt;10.1007/978-0-387-87458-6)&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: SubjectMinor
  Label: Contributed Indexing
  Group:
  Data: &lt;i&gt;Keywords: &lt;/i&gt;Beach management; Coastal monitoring; Litter size structure; Marine litter; Marine spatial planning; Plastic debris fragmentation
– Name: NumberCAS
  Label: Substance Nomenclature
  Group: ID
  Data: 0 (Waste Products)
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date(s)
  Group: Date
  Data: &lt;i&gt;Date Created: &lt;/i&gt;20261007 &lt;i&gt;Date Completed: &lt;/i&gt;20261007 &lt;i&gt;Latest Revision: &lt;/i&gt;20261007
– Name: DateUpdate
  Label: Update Code
  Group: Date
  Data: 20261008
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1007/s10661-026-16011-8
– Name: AN
  Label: PMID
  Group: ID
  Data: 42842055
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=cmedm&AN=42842055
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10661-026-16011-8
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Italy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Seashore
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Bathing Beaches statistics & numerical data
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Waste Products analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Waste Products statistics & numerical data
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Environmental Monitoring
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Contrasting macro- and meso-litter accumulation in managed and unmanaged beach sectors of the northwestern Adriatic Sea.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Passetti JP
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Varricchione M
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: de Francesco MC
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Carranza ML
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Penna A
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Casabianca S
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 07
              M: 10
              Text: 2026 Oct 07
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 1573-2959
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 198
            – Type: issue
              Value: 11
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Environmental monitoring and assessment
              Type: main
ResultId 1