About This Project

Tiny pieces of plastic (microplastics), have been found at the highest camp on Mt. Everest (26,000 ft up) and the bottom of the Mariana Trench (36,000 ft down) [1-2]. Because microplastics are everywhere, it is important to start understanding the health impacts of this environmental contaminant. We will investigate sources of microplastics, the health impacts on inshore fish, and the biomagnification potential of plastic additives up the food chain in patch reef ecosystems in the Florida Keys.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Whether from illegal dumping, accidental discharge, or everyday litter, plastics are ending up in the ocean. It is estimated that 70% of marine debris will sink, altering and damaging benthic and coral habitats [3]. Ingestion of macroplastics and microplastics can lead to physical trauma to the digestive tracts of various species, pseudosatiety (the false feeling of being full) and resultant malnutrition, or indirect physiologic effects through tissue damage, oxidative stress, and endocrine disruption caused by plastic additives. Continued research, ongoing monitoring, and a more collaborative and interdisciplinary approach are imperative for detecting and limiting the negative health impacts of macro- and microplastics around the globe and throughout this world's ecosystems.

What is the significance of this project?

Through field surveys, a series of fish health assessments, microplastic ingestion quantification, tissue analysis for plastic additives, and trophic level sampling, we hope to shed light on important microplastic sources (and how to reduce them), exposure risks to plastic additives, health impacts to important inshore fish species, and the bioaccumulation and biomagnification potential of toxic plastic additives in a patch reef ecosystem. By studying microplastic sources and fate through individual species and trophic webs, this study represents a comprehensive assessment of microplastic presence in this ecologically important marine system.

What are the goals of the project?

We want to determine the sources of macro- and microplastics by categorizing and quantifying marine debris loads in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. We hope this will give us insight into how to reduce the occurrence of plastic marine debris. We want to identify correlations between various fish health analytes, water parameters, gastrointestinal concentrations of microplastics, and various plastic additive concentrations in tissues to better understand the health impacts of microplastic exposure, and we want to analyze patterns of biomagnification of plastic additives up the food chain using stable isotope δ¹⁵N analysis for trophic position and plastic additive concentrations the muscle tissues of marine organisms using GC/MS.