Скачать или смотреть Marine Plastic Pollution - Uni of Adelaide

Over 8 million metric tonnes of plastic waste enter the ocean annually. These plastics eventually breakdown into smaller pieces referred to as microplastics. It is currently unclear whether this large influx of plastic threatens ocean health. For this project, three PhD candidates have collaborated, covering various types of research on marine plastic pollution. The three areas of research cover the following: Microplastic ingestion of fish from different parts of Australia; Harmful chemicals that get absorbed by oceanic microplastics (these can be detrimental to organisms that accidentally ingest the microplastic as these chemicals can decrease fertility and increase chances of cancer); Identification of bacterial species attaching onto marine plastic (exploring how these bacteria use plastic as a vehicle to spread diseases, as well as investigating the bacterial species that can potentially breakdown plastic). This collaboration outlines how plastic pollution threatens many aspects of our oceans