Special Issue on Microplastics in marine and freshwater organisms: Presence and potential effects

Special Issue on Microplastics in marine and freshwater organisms: Presence and potential effects

Microplastics and microfibers (hereafter referred to as “microplastics”) are a pressing threat to aquatic ecosystems and have been the topic of much recent research. This research has documented quantities and locations of microplastic accumulation in many marine and freshwater environments. However, an important emerging topic is the extent to which these microplastics are making their way into the aquatic organisms that inhabit these environments and the potential consequences of their presence in organismal guts, tissues, and food webs.

In this special issue on Microplastics in marine and freshwater organisms: Presence and potential effects, we highlight and address some of the many remaining questions. Articles in the issue examine the following: occurrence in freshwater fish, effects in freshwater plants, reproductive effects, trophic transfer, sensitivity in early life stages, spatiotemporal variability in microplastics, connections between feeding strategies, and microplastic ingestion among others.

Read the issue here

Special Issue Guest Editors:

Elise Granek, Portland State University

Susanne Brander, Oregon State University

Erika Holland, California State University-Long Beach

Microplastics from the Patapsco River are pictured at the laboratory of Dr. Lance Yonkos in the Department of Environmental Science & Technology at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., on Feb. 6, 2015. Microplastics were collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association Marine Debris Program in 2011 via a manta trawl in four tributaries feeding into the Chesapeake Bay. A study led by Yonkos reports that the prevalence of microplastics in the watershed is positively correlated with population density and proportion of development. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)

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