FINAL PROJECT: Abstract and Reader's Reponse > Characterization of Microplastics Ingestion and Bioaccumulation in Aquatic Annelids
D, good characterization of the difficult reader. Another difficult reader, though, is all of us and our single use plastics or our regular use.
Is hard for all of us to visualize the invisible problems, like small particulate air pollution or microplastics. Can you make the analogy about how pathogenic microbes are invisible, yet we have become conditioned know the risks.
Looking forward to this exploration of a new edge of environmental inquiry.
May 13, 2019 |
MbS
MbS
Microplastics are becoming a global threat, and these small degraded byproducts affect the bottom of the food chain first. The writer highlights the importance of the microplastics issue, not only to ecosystem health, but to the preservation of human health as well. The writer highlights the microplastics pollution issue through the lens of bioaccumulation and biomagnification. He first describes the major sources of microplastics, and then delves into the potential effects of microplastics on freshwater annelids – an important lower order organism at the bottom of many aquatic food chains. He conducts a brief literature review of current research in the field, including the types of microplastics ingested, preferred color, and physiological effects. Using histopathological studies, he highlights the lack of effect that most scientists have seen upon necropsy of annelid tissue. Despite this, he also highlights the lack of genetic information on the effects of microplastics. The author concludes with future directions and potential areas of particular interest in the future of annelid research with regards to microplastics ingestion, fate, and effects.
Reader’s profile: The difficult reader would most likely be an individual who does not believe in prioritizing the environment. Perhaps worse, they may work in the plastics industry and have a vested financial interest in making sure this research does not affect their business.
Reader’s Response: Comprehensive article, but I still don’t understand why this is such a big problem. Microplastics have not been proven to have an effect on organisms via histopathological studies, so why are we traveling further down this rabbit hole? Wouldn’t it be a better use of resources to focus on the effects of other major environmental pollutants, like pesticides? Microplastics are everywhere, but they don’t seem to be causing a big problem. Seems esoteric and lacks concrete solutions to actually create environmental change.