Poster Details
LAND USE EFFECTS ON A TEMPORAL COMPARISON OF THE PRESENCE AND ABUNDANCE OF MICROPLASTICS IN RIVERINE SYSTEMS
The environmental contamination of microplastics (MPs) in marine and freshwater ecosystems is of increasing concern due to their capacity to adsorb persistent organic pollutants, persist long-term in the environment, and cause gut irritation in aquatic organisms. Microplastics are plastic particles <5mm in diameter, originate from industrial production and degradation of large plastic debris. The purpose of this research is to share preliminary findings on a collaborative project with Stroud Water Research Center and UC/Bakersfield where we are assessing the effect of land-use on the presence and concentration of MP within aquatic invertebrate gut tissues from headwater and abundance of MPs. Streams did not present statistical differences in MP concentration between land- systems in the Schuylkill Watershed, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, USA. Macroinvertebrates collected from streams within forested, agricultural and urban land-use are processed for the presence use. Dipteran, Coleopteran and Trichopteran taxa contained the highest concentration of MP across streams from all land-uses. We did not find a significant difference in MP concentration between feeding groups. Understanding the abundance and distribution of MP in aquatic systems will allow us to comprehend the role of land-use in microplastic contamination aquatic food webs.
Rachel McNeish (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), California State University Bakersfield, rachel.e.mcneish@gmail.com;
John Jackson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Stroud Water Research Center, jkjackson@stroudcenter.org;
John Wallace (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Millersville University, john.wallace@millersville.edu;
Marisa Macchia (Primary Presenter/Author), Millersville University of Pennsylvania, mdmacchi@millersville.edu;
Austin Harrison (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Millersville University of Pennsylvania, atharris@millersville.edu;