A team of pioneering researchers including Professor Richard Thompson OBE, Head of the University of Plymouth’s International Marine Litter Research Unit, has won two prestigious awards for the impact of work highlighting the presence, and potential impacts, of microplastics in our oceans and the marine life they contain. Along with colleagues from the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Professor Thompson won the Societal Impact category and overall prize in the Natural Environment Research Council’s (NERC) 2018 Impact Awards. The accolades recognise their efforts to bring the causes and effects of plastic pollution, and in particular microplastics, to the attention of policy makers, industry and the general public globally. In an excellent example of collaborative research, the three institutes brought together a wealth of expertise, experience and facilities to investigate the global challenge of microplastics in the ocean. As well as Professor Thompson, the winning team includes: Professor Tamara Galloway, Professor Brendan Godley and Dr Ceri Lewis, from the University of Exeter; and Dr Penelope Lindeque and Dr Matt Cole from Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Click her to read more 

All Turtles & plastics – New paper Abstract

Despite concerns regarding the environmental impacts of microplastics, knowledge of the incidence and levels of synthetic particles in large marine vertebrates is lacking. Here, we utilize an optimized enzymatic digestion methodology, previously developed for zooplankton, to explore whether synthetic particles could be isolated from marine turtle ingesta. We report the presence of synthetic particles in every turtle subjected to investigation (n = 102) which included individuals from all seven species of marine turtle, sampled from three ocean basins (Atlantic [ATL]: n = 30, four species; Mediterranean (MED): n = 56, two species; Pacific (PAC): n = 16, five species). Most particles (n = 811) were fibres (ATL: 77.1% MED: 85.3% PAC: 64.8%) with blue and black being the dominant colours. In lesser quantities were fragments (ATL: 22.9%: MED: 14.7% PAC: 20.2%) and microbeads (4.8%; PAC only; to our knowledge the first isolation of microbeads from marine megavertebrates). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR) of a subsample of particles (n = 169) showed a range of synthetic materials such as elastomers (MED: 61.2%; PAC: 3.4%), thermoplastics (ATL: 36.8%: MED: 20.7% PAC: 27.7%) and synthetic regenerated cellulosic fibres (SRCF; ATL: 63.2%: MED: 5.8% PAC: 68.9%). Synthetic particles being isolated from species occupying different trophic levels suggest the possibility of multiple ingestion pathways. These include exposure from polluted seawater and sediments and/or additional trophic transfer from contaminated prey/forage items. We assess the likelihood that microplastic ingestion presents a significant conservation problem at current levels compared to other anthropogenic threats. Click here to access

Scallops and nanoplastics: particles seep into scallop organs within six hours 

A ground-breaking study has shown it takes a matter of hours for billions of minute plastic nanoparticles to become distributed throughout the major organs of a marine organism.

The research, led by the University of Plymouth, examined the uptake of nanoparticles by a commercially important mollusc, the great scallop (Pecten maximus). After just six hours exposure in the laboratory, billions of particles measuring 250nm (around 0.00025mm) had accumulated mostly within the scallop intestine. However, considerably more, even smaller particles measuring 20nm (0.00002mm) had become dispersed throughout the body including the kidney, gill, muscle and other organs. Nanoplastics begin life as large pieces of plastic before breaking down into microplastics and then even smaller nano pieces.

The study is the first to quantify the uptake of nanoparticles at predicted environmentally relevant conditions, with previous research having been conducted at far higher concentrations than scientists believe are found in our oceans. Scallops were exposed to quantities of carbon-radio labelled nanopolystyrene and after six hours, autoradiography was used to show the number of particles present in organs and tissue. It was also used to demonstrate that the 20nm particles were no longer detectable after 14 days, whereas 250nm particles took 48 days to disappear.

Dr Maya Al Sid Cheikh, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth, who led the study said: “For this experiment, we needed to develop an entirely novel scientific approach. We made nanoparticles of plastic in our laboratories and incorporated a label so that we could trace the particles in the body of the scallop at environmentally relevant concentrations. The results of the study show for the first time that nanoparticles can be rapidly taken up by a marine organism, and that in just a few hours they become distributed across most of the major organs.” Click here to read more