Testing indicators for biological impacts of microplastics .

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Date
2016Corporate Author
CleanSea Project
Status
PublishedPages
5pp.
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Show full item recordAbstract
The EU is still far from its goal of achieving healthy seas and part of the problem is due to marine litter
(European Commission, 2014). Plastic materials invariably make up the dominant fraction of marine
litter and there are particular concerns regarding the impacts of plastic microlitter (plastic particles in
the range of a few nanometers up to 5 mm). The small size, persistence and ubiquity of these
‘microplastics’ in both pelagic and benthic ecosystems means they have the potential to be ingested,
along with naturally occurring particulate matter, by a wide array of marine biota with unknown
consequences for Darwinian fitness parameters (growth, survival, performance, reproduction). Due to
the varying size, buoyancy and composition of marine litter, ingestion will vary for litter types between
feeding guilds; planktivores and filter feeders will encounter low-density litter fragments suspended in
the upper water column whereas high density litter fragments are more likely.....
Resource URL
http://www.cleansea-project.eu/drupal/sites/default/files/project%20results/D2_2_factsheet.pdfPublisher
VU University, Institute for Environmental StudiesAmsterdam, Netherlands
Document Language
enSustainable Development Goals (SDG)
14.A14.1
Essential Ocean Variables (EOV)
Zooplankton biomass and diversityMacroalgal canopy cover and composition
Fish abundance and distribution
Microbe biomass and diversity
Best Practice Type
Best PracticeGuide
Spatial Coverage
European SeasCitation
CleanSea Project (2016) Testing indicators for biological impacts of microplastics. Amsterdam, Netherlands, VU University, Institute for Environmental Studies, 5pp. (D2_2factsheet). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25607/OBP-173Collections