1. Aquatic Plastic Pollution Tatiana Chicas, Cris Chan, Katie Hoogland, and John Patresan

2. Our Topics ●DIFFERENT TYPES OF PLASTIC ●DISPERSAL ●IN THE FOOD WEB ●EFFECTS ON AQUATIC LIFE Our Topics

3. Plastic Overview ●Plastic waste is discarded on a global scale due to massive industrialization, individual consumption and tourism ●Amount of waste is too massive for waste management systems, incinerators, landfills to manage total amount ●Plastic waste becomes dispersed throughout the oceans in large concentrations

4. Our Focus? Microplastics UV radiation and hydrolysis (the chemical breakdown of a compound due to reaction with water) cause larger pieces of waste to split into thousands of pieces of microplastics

5. Different Types of Plastics Rochman et al. (2013). Long-Term Field Measurement of Sorption Organic Contaminants to Five Types of Plastic Pellets: Implication for Plastic Marine Debris. Environmental Science & Technology, 47, 1646-1654.

6. HDPE, LDPE, and PP → increased PCB concentrations PVC and PET → decreased PCB concentrations Rochman et al. (2013). Long-Term Field Measurement of Sorption Organic Contaminants to Five Types of Plastic Pellets: Implication for Plastic Marine Debris. Environmental Science & Technology, 47, 1646-1654.

7. HDPE, LDPE, and PP → increased PAH concentrations PVC and PET → decreased PAH concentrations Rochman et al. (2013). Long-Term Field Measurement of Sorption Organic Contaminants to Five Types of Plastic Pellets: Implication for Plastic Marine Debris. Environmental Science & Technology, 47, 1646-1654.

8. ➔ No trend was found amongst the metals ➔ Therefore suggesting that all polymers sorb metals the same Rochman et al. (2014). Long-Term Sorption of Metals Is Similar among Plastic Types: Implications for Plastic Debris in Aquatic Environments. PLoS ONE, 9, E85433-E85433.

9. Plastic Dispersal Majority of studies focused on plastic pollution in the open ocean Studies should emphasize more on the source of the pollution, rivers and smaller bodies of water. WHY? Most recent studies focused on plastic pollution in smaller bodies of water

10. Plastic Dispersal Smaller bodies of water are easier to control, thus offer more accurate results Such as, differences in velocity and displacement Able to provide better modelling results Ballent, A., et al. "Modelled transport of benthic marine microplastic pollution in the Nazaré Canyon." Biogeosciences 10.12 (2013): 7957-7970. spring/summer fall/winter

11. Plastic Dispersal vertical currentsmodelled internal waveaverage modelled flow data Smaller bodies of water allow for more accurate modelling results. This sets up the framework for generalized concepts that can apply to all bodies of water Ballent, A., et al. "Modelled transport of benthic marine microplastic pollution in the Nazaré Canyon." Biogeosciences 10.12 (2013): 7957-7970.

12. Plastic Accumulation in Copepods ●Key source to aquatic food web ●Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea ●Food source for larval fishes, filter feeders, whales, etc.

13. The Copepod Kyun-Woo Lee, Won Joon Shim, et al. (2013) Size-Dependent Effects of Micro Polystyrene Particles in the Marine Copepod Tigriopus japonicus. 47 (19), pp 11278–11283

14. Microplastics Found in the Mytilus Edulis L Kohler A, Von Moos N, et al. (2012) Uptake and Effects of Microplastics on Cells and Tissue of the Blue Mussel Mytilus edulis L. after an Experimental Exposure. 46 (20), pp 11327–11335

15. Planktivorous Fish (Lower Trophic Organism) ●Quantitatively, the average number of plastic pieces ingested increased as the size of the fish increased, reaching a maximum average of seven pieces per fish for the 7-cm size class ●Qualitatively, ingested plastic consisted primarily of fragments (94%), film (3%), fishing line (2%), and finally rope (woven filaments), Styrofoam and rubber (all <1%) Moore CJ, Boerger CM, et al. (2010) Plastic Ingestion by Planktivorous fishes in the North Pacific Central Gyre. Volume 60 issue 12.

16. Plastic Concentrations Found in Fin Whale (B Physalus) & Mediterranean Basking Shark (C Maximus Coppola D, Fossi MC, Baini, et al (2014) M Large filter feeding marine organisms as indicators of microplastic in the pelagic environment: The case studies of the Mediterranean basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) and fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) Phthalates: Phthalates are a class of chemicals commonly used to make rigid plastics softer to enhance the use of some plastic polymers. Organochlorine compounds: carbon/chlorine containing -- endocrine disrupters

17. How Plastic Pollution Impacts Aquatic Life I.Entanglement Common Culprits: ●Plastic Fishing Nets/Lines ●6 Ring Holder ➔ Variety of Aquatic Species are affected ●Approx. 100,000 Animals Die Annually Due to Plastic Entanglement!

18. II.Ingestion ●Primarily harms species due to obstruction of digestive pathways, eventually leading to malnutrition, starvation and finally death. ●Easily misinterpreted as food source because the vast amounts of degraded plastics resemble typical food sources!

19. III.Biochemical/Physiological Effects ●Compounds such as PCB’s, BPA’s and Polystyrene become absorbed into the bloodstream eventually disrupting hormone signaling pathways! ●Can lead to detrimental physiological malfunction. Browne, M., et al. (2008). Ingested Microscopic Plastic Translocates to the Circulatory System of the Mussel, Mytilus edulis (L.). Environmental Science Technology, 42, 5026-5031.

20. How can we help??? ➔ Lets produce safer types of plastic so the aquatic life can have less exposure to the toxic by products. ➔ Lets analyze the smaller bodies of water and food web so we can obtain a better understanding of the origins of dispersal. ➔ Finally, we as a community must recognize how much damage plastic pollution is causing to the marine ecosystem and implement strict regulations to mitigate the effects.

21. References Coppola D, Fossi MC, Baini, et al (2014) M Large filter feeding marine organisms as indicators of microplastic in the pelagic environment: The case studies of the Mediterranean basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) and fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) Dissanayake A, Lowe DM, Browne MA, et al. (2008) Ingested Microscopic Plastic Translocates to the Circulatory System of the Mussel, Mytilus edulis (L.). 42 (13), pp 5026–5031 Kohler A, Von Moos N, et al. (2012) Uptake and Effects of Microplastics on Cells and Tissue of the Blue Mussel Mytilus edulis L. after an Experimental Exposure. 46 (20), pp 11327–11335 Kyun-Woo Lee, Won Joon Shim, et al. (2013) Size-Dependent Effects of Micro Polystyrene Particles in the Marine Copepod Tigriopus japonicus. 47 (19), pp 11278–11283 Moore CJ, Boerger CM, et al. (2010) Plastic Ingestion by Planktivorous fishes in the North Pacific Central Gyre. Volume 60 issue 12. Rochman et al. (2013). Long-Term Field Measurement of Sorption Organic Contaminants to Five Types of Plastic Pellets: Implications for Plastic Marine Debris. Environmental Science & Technology, 47, 1646-1654. Rochman et al. (2014). Long-Term Sorption of Metals Is Similar among Plastic Types: Implications for Plastic Debris in Aquatic Environments. PLoS ONE, 9, E85433-E85433. Browne, M., et al. (2008). Ingested Microscopic Plastic Translocates to the Circulatory System of the Mussel, Mytilus edulis (L.). Environmental Science Technology, 42, 5026-5031.