ORCID Profile
0000-0002-9122-8160
Current Organisation
Anglia Ruskin University - Cambridge Campus
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVPOL.2016.05.043
Abstract: Plastic pollution is recognised as an emerging threat to aquatic ecosystems, with microplastics now the most abundant type of marine debris. Health effects caused by microplastics have been demonstrated at the species level, but impacts on ecological communities remain unknown. In this study, impacts of microplastics on the health and biological functioning of European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) and on the structure of associated macrofaunal assemblages were assessed in an outdoor mesocosm experiment using intact sediment cores. Biodegradable and conventional microplastics were added at low (0.8 μg L(-1)) and high (80 μg L(-1)) doses in the water column repeatedly for 60 days. Effects on the oysters were minimal, but benthic assemblage structures differed and species richness and the total number of organisms were ∼1.2 and 1.5 times greater in control mesocosms than in those exposed to high doses of microplastics. Notably, abundances of juvenile Littorina sp. (periwinkles) and Idotea balthica (an isopod) were ∼2 and 8 times greater in controls than in mesocosms with the high dose of either type of microplastic. In addition, the biomass of Scrobicularia plana (peppery furrow shell clam) was ∼1.5 times greater in controls than in mesocosms with the high dose of microplastics. This work indicates that repeated exposure to high concentrations of microplastics could alter assemblages in an important marine habitat by reducing the abundance of benthic fauna.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 20-04-2015
Abstract: The accumulation of plastic debris is a global environmental problem due to its durability, persistence, and abundance. Although effects of plastic debris on in idual marine organisms, particularly mammals and birds, have been extensively documented (e.g., entanglement and choking), very little is known about effects on assemblages and consequences for ecosystem functioning. In Europe, around 40% of the plastic items produced are utilized as single-use packaging, which rapidly accumulate in waste management facilities and as litter in the environment. A range of biodegradable plastics have been developed with the aspiration of reducing the persistence of litter however, their impacts on marine assemblages or ecosystem functioning have never been evaluated. A field experiment was conducted to assess the impact of conventional and biodegradable plastic carrier bags as litter on benthic macro- and meio-faunal assemblages and biogeochemical processes (primary productivity, redox condition, organic matter content, and pore-water nutrients) on an intertidal shore near Dublin, Ireland. After 9 weeks, the presence of either type of bag created anoxic conditions within the sediment along with reduced primary productivity and organic matter and significantly lower abundances of infaunal invertebrates. This indicates that both conventional and biodegradable bags can rapidly alter marine assemblages and the ecosystem services they provide.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 29-10-2012
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-04-2013
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 06-11-2017
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS12344
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 10-04-2003
DOI: 10.1086/368161
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 22-05-2013
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS10241
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2012
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 12-12-2016
Abstract: Biological effects of microplastics on the health of bivalves have been demonstrated elsewhere, but ecological impacts on the bio ersity and ecosystem functioning of bivalve-dominated habitats are unknown. Thus, we exposed intact sediment cores containing European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) or blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) in seawater to two different densities (2.5 or 25 μg L
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVPOL.2015.10.010
Abstract: Effects of microplastic pollution on benthic organisms and ecosystem services provided by sedimentary habitats are largely unknown. An outdoor mesocosm experiment was done to realistically assess the effects of three different types of microplastic pollution (one biodegradable type polylactic acid and two conventional types polyethylene and polyvinylchloride) at increasing concentrations (0.02, 0.2 and 2% of wet sediment weight) on the health and biological activity of lugworms, Arenicola marina (Linnaeus, 1758), and on nitrogen cycling and primary productivity of the sediment they inhabit. After 31 days, A. marina produced less casts in sediments containing microplastics. Metabolic rates of A. marina increased, while microalgal biomass decreased at high concentrations, compared to sediments with low concentrations or without microplastics. Responses were strongest to polyvinylchloride, emphasising that different materials may have differential effects. Each material needs to be carefully evaluated in order to assess their risks as microplastic pollution. Overall, both conventional and biodegradable microplastics in sandy sediments can affect the health and behaviour of lugworms and directly or indirectly reduce primary productivity of these habitats.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-10-2014
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-03-2013
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Start Date: 2013
End Date: 2015
Funder: Irish Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2013
End Date: 2014
Funder: British Ecological Society
View Funded Activity