Hello all and welcome to my weekly science-fest. This has been a busy, long, productive yet sad week. Other than receiving some disheartening news, I have continued working on my IRP which concerns micro-plastics in the ocean environment. After speaking with both Dr. Woodall as well as Angela I have come to understand that there are different types of oceanic plastic material. Which include what is referred to as micro plastics and are tiny fibers, and microscopic pieces of plastics that have degraded from larger pieces of plastics that have found their way into the ocean. But also includes micro-bead "plastics" which from my research I have come to understand are sometimes made of a wax material as opposed to plastics but these micro beads can also be made of plastics as well depending on the source of the beads. You can learn a little more here
Oceanic Micro-Plastics, this an article I pulled from the DSC library database. I did not find much about general plastics in the ocean on my initial search, however there was some localized pieces about S. Korea, as well as Cambodia and the polar waters of the Arctic. There was also an article on the DSC library data base that spoke of how these micro-plastics specifically affect wildlife and the marine environment which you can check out here
Micro-Plastics and the Marine Environment.
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| Microplastics under a microscope |
I also spent some time at the Marine Science Center this week with Mallory who taught me how to filter sea water and how to identify micro-plastics that may be present. Above is a nice example of what they actually look like under a microscope.Mallory informed that although they have yet to find micro beads they continue to look but they find an abundance of the fiber plastics (which are the hair like objects in the above picture). This was an amazing experience and one I am very thankful for. Not only did I get to see some micro-plastics and learn about the processes and materials used in not only finding but identifying them, I also got some great pictures of wildlife at their facility. Not to mention I almost got to see some whales off New Smyrna Beach but got lost on my way to where they were, next time gadget, next time.
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| A very cute little seahorse at the MSC |
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| One of my favorites...a horseshoe crab |
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| The downright biggest hermit crab I've ever seen! |
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I also learned about some pretty disturbing things when I was with Mallory, she spoke of how these micro-plastics end up in the ocean by trash dumping and then due to the UV rays of the sun as well as activity from wildlife such as nipping and attempting to ingest the larger pieces, become degraded to the point where they are so small the fish and other marine wildlife mistake them for food and ingest them, which as you might suspect is toxic to them. This information is also mentioned in both the first and second article I linked to so it was no surprise to hear Mallory mention it as well. So in light of that particular piece of information I have included the photo below to perhaps encourage you to pack out what you bring onto our beaches and leave only footprints behind you in respect for our fellow creatures.
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| If this doesn't break your heart we cannot be friends :( |
So my fellow bloggers, classmates and friends I leave you with one final thought and image. There is a giant patch of garbage that just floats around in the Pacific Ocean adding to the growing problem of these micro-plastics in our marine environments and it is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (no, really, it is). I was totally clueless about the existence of this "island" of trash that we, unfortunately, created until first taking Oceanography 101 with Dr. Woodall. It just sits out there polluting our oceans, destroying our wildlife and yes, in case you were wondering, in some cases finding its way microscopically into your food.Which, in my opinion is not only a pretty big reason to care but (for me at least ) yet another reason to be a vegan!
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| Just a small portion of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch |
So before you bring your groceries home in those plastic bags or purchase that "pretty" new fleece jacket consider the ocean and its inhabitants and remember -- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse. There is also a website run by Dr. Maia McGuire from the University of Florida, where you can learn all about how you can get involved and make a positive impact on this growing problem which you can find here
Florida Microplastics. There is wonderful information, educational materials for yourself as well as the public such as brochures and other pamphlets you can print if you are so inclined and a great pledge you can take to reduce your plastic footprint (not sure if this is a term but it should be ) which I have taken myself and would encourage all of you to consider as well. Dr. McGuire also provides information about the methods and materials she uses as well as a handy guide to identifying micro-plastics with some great pictures. She also details how one can become a volunteer and get involved in her efforts and provides some excellent resources as well as instructing you on how to log what you find and the hours you spend collecting, filtering and analyzing for those of you who may be interested.
Until next week my friends, be happy, be safe and remember our friend Mrs. or Mr. sea turtle.
P.S. I have tested all of these links during the creation of this blog post but if anyone finds they are not working or you are unable to access the information please let me know so I can fix it as soon as possible.
RESOURCES
Katsnelson, A. (2015). News Feature: Microplastics present pollution puzzle.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,
112(18), 5547–5549. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1504135112
M. M. (n.d.). Be Plastic Aware! Retrieved February 18, 2016, from http://stjohns.ifas.ufl.edu /sea/microplastics/index.html
Shim, W. J., & Thomposon, R. C. (2015). Microplastics in the Ocean [Abstract].
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 69(3), 265-268. Retrieved February 18, 2016, from http://link.springer.com.db06.linccweb.org/article/10.1007/s00244-015-0216-x
Well--I'm going to guess the MDC will not find micro-beads in the water column; they are too heavy to remain suspended and quickly fall into the sediments. However, the fact that they are finding so much micro-fibers is likely a more concerning as they can more easily be digested by marine organisms.
ReplyDeleteWhere was the water sample taken that represents your first pic. Also--as cute as the creatures are in your other pics-- in the future please only include pics that are on topic...the extra pics make your post a bit too long.