Plastic – oceanbites

Are Diseases in Ocean Ecosystems Increasing?

Citation: Ward JR, Lafferty KD (2004) The Elusive Baseline of Marine Disease: Are Diseases in Ocean Ecosystems Increasing? PLoS Biol…

Plastic

Incidental Ingestion: Do fishes intentionally swallow microplastics?

Microplastics in our oceans are a growing problem, but how do fishes investigate and interact with these particles?

Biology Chemistry Hazards Human Health Plastic Pollution

How many microplastics are in your body? An insight into lifetime accumulation

Microscopic plastics have been found anywhere and everywhere, including in the food we eat. With plastic pollution on the rise,…

Plastic Pollution

Let them eat plastic – Animals eating microplastic could choke the ocean

Plastic pollution may bring to mind big images - dead birds, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and beaches filled with…

Biology Human impacts Lakes Plastic

Can Green Algae Capture Microplastics in the Great Lakes?

Microplastics (specifically microfibers) can adhere to the cell walls of the green algae Cladophora, potentially removing them from the water.

Biological oceanography Climate Change Evolution Human impacts Microbiome Plastic

Catching a ride on plastic: how dangerous bacteria might travel across oceans

Plastic is abundant in the ocean ecosystem. Not only is it harmful to marine animals, but as scientists discovered, it…

Coastal Management Plastic Pollution

‘Out of Sight’ Can’t Mean ‘Out of Mind’

Surface marine debris and microplastic pollution has received more attention recently—which is great—but there’s another garbage problem we are only…

Biological oceanography Biology Ecology Fisheries Plastic Pollution

Plastics and Colors and Fish, Oh My!

Have you ever wondered what happens to the garbage that ends up in the ocean? Or about what just might…

Coastal Management Plastic

The plight of the mangrove

Celine E.J. van Bijsterveldt, Bregje K. van Wesenbeeck, Sri Ramadhani, Olivier V. Raven, Fleur E. van Gool, Rudhi Pribadi, Tjeerd…

Fisheries Human impacts Plastic

Don’t get ~tide~ down: Are biodegradable nets a good solution to the ghost fishing problem?

Biodegradable nets are a potential solution to the ghost fishing problem-or the phenomenon of lost fishing nets still catching animals.…

Biological oceanography Plastic

Can Pacific Oysters handle a bit of microplastics in the lab? Shuck yeah!

Filter feeding animals like oysters can be exposed to small plastic particles, called microplastics, as they filter food out of…

Conservation Human impacts Plastic Pollution

Microplastics, Canned Fish, and You: How plastic pollution may play a role in your next lunch

Did you know that many plastic items can shed tiny particles called microplastics? These microplastics are present everywhere in our…

Plastic

Life in Plastic: 14 Million Tonnes of Microplastics Likely on Sea Floor

The deep-sea floor has always fascinated scientists and ocean lovers alike with its mystery and wonder. For the first time…

Plastic Pollution

Ocean plastic pollution damages bacteria that help us breathe

Every minute, we are dumping a garbage truckload of plastic litter into the ocean. Plastic pollution in the ocean are…

Plastic Pollution

SURFO Special: Scouting out marine plastics on the shores of Guam

Plethora of plastic pollution! Every year, large amounts of plastic are being deposited into our oceans as a direct result…

Plastic

Is There Plastic in Paradise?

Tropical islands like the Maldives have always been viewed as untouched paradises for most people, but what lies beneath the…

Plastic Pollution

Menacing microplastics hamper hermit crab choices

How can little bits of plastic in the ocean impact a hermit crab's ability to make decisions? Microplastics can be…

Climate Change Plastic Pollution

Is our plastic dependence accelerating climate change?

Reference: Royer, Sarah-Jeanne, Sara Ferrón, Samuel T. Wilson, David M. Karl. “Production of methane and ethylene from plastic in…

Plastic Pollution

You are what you eat: Microplastics travel from food to the brain

Oceans are full of microplastics. These tiny plastic particles end up in the stomach of marine animals. Now, scientists have…

Biogeochemistry Book Review Climate Change Coastal Management Hazards Human Health Human impacts Plastic Pollution

Sunlight May Stimulate Breakdown of Ocean Plastic

A new study suggests that one form of plastic might not take as long to break down in the ocean…