Its all about Microplastics, which is being a very pronounced issue these days. What microplastics are and how they affect the oceans and marine organisms.
Through my PhD at the University of Malta, I wanted to share what I learn with everyone about microplastics in the marine environment (what I do, generalities, techniques).
Its all about Microplastics, which is being a very pronounced issue these days. What microplastics are and how they affect the oceans and marine organisms.
Through my PhD at the University of Malta, I wanted to share what I learn with everyone about microplastics in the marine environment (what I do, generalities, techniques).
Microplastics, small pieces of plastic, less than 5 mm (0.2 inches) in length, that occur in the environment as a consequence of plastic pollution. Microplastics are present in a variety of products, from cosmetics to synthetic clothing to plastic bags and bottles. Many of these products readily enter the environment in wastes.
Trophic Transfer of Microplastics and Mixed Contaminants in the Marine Food W...Mohammad Rashidul Islam
Introduction
What is microplastic and how it formed?
Fate of microplastics
Factor influencing microplastics ingestions.
How microplastics and mixed contaminants
transfer trophically in marine food web?
Main effect of microplastics in trophic transfer.
Implications of human health
Conclusion and recommendations.
Slides from the Deschutes Land Trust's Nature Night presentation by Dr. Susanne Brander, researcher at Oregon State University considering the impacts of microplastic pollution on our environment.
Microplastic is an emerging problem for aquatic as well as terrestrial organisms. Plastic is a synthetic material which is produced from organic polymers including polyethylene, nylon and PVC. There are mainly two types of the MP 1st is primary microplastic and 2nd is secondary microplastic. The source of these microplastic are domestic and industrial products include sunscreens, cosmetic, scrubbers (facial scrubs and hand cleansers) personal care products, insect repellents and materials used in air-blasting, other industrial applications and some plastic are produce breaking of very large plastic by a different process such as chemical deposition, physical fragmentation, physical fragmentation and biological degradation in terrestrial or marine environments. Microplastic cause lethal effect on marine organisms includes invertebrates, vertebrates and other biotas of the marine organisms. Microplastic cause tissue and organ damages, the effect on respiration rates, reduction of feeding, the effect on digestive cavities, to impaired immune functions and physiological stress which influence the status of health and the behavior, accumulation within mussels cause cellular damage which response to oxidative stress and toxic reaction in all organisms of water. Microplastic in aquatic organisms not only kills the marine organisms but also disturb human health. Microplastic directly or indirectly enters into the human food chain and cause digestive problems, stomach disease and cancer in human. Microplastic also causes financial damage because fishes are the main source of income in many countries. Without immediate strong preventive measures about microplastic many problems will be world face in the future. In this article, we discuss the about the source of microplastic, transfer of microplastic, the effect on marine organisms as well as human, ingestion of microplastic and control measure of microplastic.
Whenever word plastic comes to our mind the first thing that strikes is HARMFUL!
So here is a little presentation to show how to convert that harmful thing into something innovative :)
ENJOY
During our October 27 webinar, we discussed what the newest research is revealing about the pervasiveness and dangers of microplastics, and highlighted ways to reduce your exposure to microplastics as well as how to support legislation and policy change to make an impact. The webinar was moderated by Abby Barrows, Marine Scientist, and panelists included: Prigi Arisandi, Executive Director, Ecoton; Dr. Charles Rolsky, Postdoctoral student, Biodesign Institute, ASU & Plastic Oceans International, Director of Science, North America; and Thara Bening Sandrina, Captain, River Warrior.
Today plastic disposal is the major problem faced by the world,so in order to curb that pollution, it is our responsibility to use less plastics and recycle it.
Plastic is poisoning our oceans and a lot of that plastic comes from plastic beverage bottles. Stop using disposable plastic water bottles and switch to using filtered tap water in reusable water bottles. It's easy to do. It will help save the ocean. It will save you money.
Microplastics - an incomplete but potentially frightening pictureStefanBarot
Microplastics are an increasing threat to health by their presence in seafood. Due to a lack of sufficient statistically relevant data their presence and impact is still difficult to estimate, however the origin of microplastics seems to be firming up.
Refilwe Mofokeng, Gemma Gerber, Mathew Coote, Sipho Mkhize, Deborah Robertson-Andersson, Gan Moodley. Presented at the Symposium of Contemporary Conservation Practice 2015.
Microplastics, small pieces of plastic, less than 5 mm (0.2 inches) in length, that occur in the environment as a consequence of plastic pollution. Microplastics are present in a variety of products, from cosmetics to synthetic clothing to plastic bags and bottles. Many of these products readily enter the environment in wastes.
Trophic Transfer of Microplastics and Mixed Contaminants in the Marine Food W...Mohammad Rashidul Islam
Introduction
What is microplastic and how it formed?
Fate of microplastics
Factor influencing microplastics ingestions.
How microplastics and mixed contaminants
transfer trophically in marine food web?
Main effect of microplastics in trophic transfer.
Implications of human health
Conclusion and recommendations.
Slides from the Deschutes Land Trust's Nature Night presentation by Dr. Susanne Brander, researcher at Oregon State University considering the impacts of microplastic pollution on our environment.
Microplastic is an emerging problem for aquatic as well as terrestrial organisms. Plastic is a synthetic material which is produced from organic polymers including polyethylene, nylon and PVC. There are mainly two types of the MP 1st is primary microplastic and 2nd is secondary microplastic. The source of these microplastic are domestic and industrial products include sunscreens, cosmetic, scrubbers (facial scrubs and hand cleansers) personal care products, insect repellents and materials used in air-blasting, other industrial applications and some plastic are produce breaking of very large plastic by a different process such as chemical deposition, physical fragmentation, physical fragmentation and biological degradation in terrestrial or marine environments. Microplastic cause lethal effect on marine organisms includes invertebrates, vertebrates and other biotas of the marine organisms. Microplastic cause tissue and organ damages, the effect on respiration rates, reduction of feeding, the effect on digestive cavities, to impaired immune functions and physiological stress which influence the status of health and the behavior, accumulation within mussels cause cellular damage which response to oxidative stress and toxic reaction in all organisms of water. Microplastic in aquatic organisms not only kills the marine organisms but also disturb human health. Microplastic directly or indirectly enters into the human food chain and cause digestive problems, stomach disease and cancer in human. Microplastic also causes financial damage because fishes are the main source of income in many countries. Without immediate strong preventive measures about microplastic many problems will be world face in the future. In this article, we discuss the about the source of microplastic, transfer of microplastic, the effect on marine organisms as well as human, ingestion of microplastic and control measure of microplastic.
Whenever word plastic comes to our mind the first thing that strikes is HARMFUL!
So here is a little presentation to show how to convert that harmful thing into something innovative :)
ENJOY
During our October 27 webinar, we discussed what the newest research is revealing about the pervasiveness and dangers of microplastics, and highlighted ways to reduce your exposure to microplastics as well as how to support legislation and policy change to make an impact. The webinar was moderated by Abby Barrows, Marine Scientist, and panelists included: Prigi Arisandi, Executive Director, Ecoton; Dr. Charles Rolsky, Postdoctoral student, Biodesign Institute, ASU & Plastic Oceans International, Director of Science, North America; and Thara Bening Sandrina, Captain, River Warrior.
Today plastic disposal is the major problem faced by the world,so in order to curb that pollution, it is our responsibility to use less plastics and recycle it.
Plastic is poisoning our oceans and a lot of that plastic comes from plastic beverage bottles. Stop using disposable plastic water bottles and switch to using filtered tap water in reusable water bottles. It's easy to do. It will help save the ocean. It will save you money.
Microplastics - an incomplete but potentially frightening pictureStefanBarot
Microplastics are an increasing threat to health by their presence in seafood. Due to a lack of sufficient statistically relevant data their presence and impact is still difficult to estimate, however the origin of microplastics seems to be firming up.
Refilwe Mofokeng, Gemma Gerber, Mathew Coote, Sipho Mkhize, Deborah Robertson-Andersson, Gan Moodley. Presented at the Symposium of Contemporary Conservation Practice 2015.
Abstract: Microplastics in fish from the KwaZulu-Natal BightMACE Lab
Authors: Sipho Mkhize (MACE Lab NRF Intern 2015), Dr Deborah Robertson-Andersson, Gan Moodley.
Submitted and accepted for the Symposium of Contemporary Conservation Symposium (SCCP) 2016.
Gemma Gerber, Thembani Mkhize, Deborah Robertson-Andersson, Gan Moodley. Presented the the ninth Scientific Symposium of the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) 2015.
There are various Protozoans found on this planet most are harmful, while a few has great economic importance. This slide presents about the economic importance of few Protozoans.
this presentation provides a simple overview for important aspects in modern evolutionary biology and natural history. they include mechanism of evolution and its correlation to natural history, embryology as well as animal and human biology.
STUDY ON MICROPLASTIC CHALLENGE – INDIAN STATUS AND SOLUTIONS Srinjoy Chatterjee
1. Microplastic (MPs) now has emerged as an alarming environmental pollutant and its prevalence is now widely observed in various ecosystems.
2. The term “microplastic” coined by Thompson et al in the year 2004 basically represents heterogeneous mixture of smaller plastic fragments in the size range of 0.001-5 mm.
3. They may originate either directly (primary sources) through engineered particles such as microbeads/microfibers widely used in Personal Care Products or through fragmentation of larger plastic particles as a result of various anthropogenic activities (secondary sources).
Examples - Fragments of fishing gear, packages and drink bottles, synthetic textiles, car tyres, paints, and cosmetics. Natural breakdown through UV rays of sunlight, microbial processes, or through thermal oxidative processes also account for fragmentation of large plastic particles into MPs.
4. MPs basically consists of six major types of plastic products namely, Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Polyamide (PA), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polystyrene (PS), Polyurethane (PUR), and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET).
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WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS TO THIS MENACE?
1. SOLUTIONS BY REGULATORS, SCIENTISTS, GOVERNMENT AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.
Microplastics are tiny and may not be easily noticed as a treat to both sea and human life, therefore there is an urgent need to combat it. The potential risk to food security, and thereby human health, has led:
• regulators to call for better understanding education and public awareness of the fate and effects of microplastic debris on marine life.
• to the call for urgent actions by scientists (researching more) government (putting right policies in place) and the manufacturing industries on the need for the reduction of the production and activities resulting in the availability and spread of microplastic into the marine environment.
• To the need to strengthen international and regional cooperation in this area among: decision-makers researchers and academias to raise awareness in addressing water-related issues.
2. PUTTING IN PLACE APPRORIATE PROHIBITIONS, LAWS AND BANS.
The following should be done:
• For Countries: Prohibiting or disincentivizing land-based materials causing marine litter such as the use of microbead plastics for toothpaste.
• For Manufacturing: National law and sub-national law should be put in place.
• At Retail Level: National Law and sub-national law should be put in place.
3. MEASURES TO DO AS AN INDIVIDUAL.
• Report plastics pollutions e.g by using hashtag #plasticspollution with the photo, date and location.
• Cut down on plastics by staying clear of plastic products. Look for natural alternatives or reuseable containers. Don’t buy cleansers and cosmetics with microbeads.
• Clean-up plastic pollution. When possible use a pool or aquarium skimmer to remove plastics debris from the water and throw the debris in the garbage.
2. Microplastic Pollution
• Microplastics are generally described as plastic particles with a
diameter of less than 5mm.
• There are several ways in which microplastics enter the marine
environment
• Microplastics that are commonly recorded in the oceans include
polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS)
• Depending on their origin they can be classified as:
• Primary Microplastics
• Secondary Microplastics
3. Distribution of Microplastics
Sediment samples were collected from 18 shores across 6 continents.
All 18 shores has microplastics present (Brown et al., 2011)
4. Interactions with Marine Organisms
• Ingestion:
• The most common way that microplastics will interact with marine biota
• Primary- and low-trophic level organisms are particularly susceptible
• Translocation:
• After ingestion, microplastics have several possible fates
• They can be egested as faeces, taken up by the epithelial lining in the gut,
or translocated to other tissues.
• Absorption of Pollutants:
• Microplastics are highly susceptible to contamination by various pollutants.
• Including heavy metals, endocrine disruptors and POPs.
5. Trophic Transfer of Microplastics
• A study in 2014 by Setala et al.,
indicated that mesozooplankton
could uptake polystyrene (PS)
spheres.
• When mysid shrimp were
exposed to the contaminated
zooplankton, all individual
shrimps had PS spheres in their
intestines.
The ingestion of microplastics by primary tropic-level organisms, such as phytoplankton and
zooplankton, presents a potential for transfer into the food web.
Image Source: Wright et al. 2013
6. Microplastics and the Intertidal Food Web
• Uptake by the Blue Mussel (Mytilus edulis)
• Mussels are suspension feeding bivalves.
• Since microplastics have a similar size range to planktonic organisms, they are
considered bioavailable to such invertebrates.
• Studies have indicated that mussels are able to uptake microplastics through
feeding.
• Transfer to Crabs
• The blue mussel is a key prey species to shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) and
the edible crab (Cancer pagurus)
• In 2004, a study by Watts et al., demonstrated that microplastics can be
transferred to shore crabs after ingesting contaminated mussels.
