MICRO 2016: Fate and Impact of Microplastics in Marine Ecosystems

After earning a double degree in geology (University of Barcelona) and oceanography (University of Perpignan) in 1998, Juan went on to receive his PhD in marine geophysics under the direction of Dr. Jean-Pierre Rehault at the Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer and the Institut Français de Recherche pour l' Exploitation de la Mer in Brest, France. His PhD dissertation, "Formation et évolution des canyons sous- marins du Golfe du Lion : relation avec les cycles glacio-eustatiques” was developed while he was working on a team led by Dr. Jean-Louis Olivet, and was presented in November of 2004. During his time as a student, he participated in eight oceanographic research cruises, including (i) the first oceanographic cruise of the research vessel Hesperides through the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Canary Islands in 1998 and (ii) in early 2000, he completed a month-long research cruise in the Bransfield Basin of the Antarctic continent. With over 50 publications, Juan’s work focuses on the evolution and current state of the coastal and oceanic system, ranging from the coast to the deep sea. Much of his work incorporates his interest in the earth-human system and investigates the ways in which humans modify "natural" processes, with a specific emphasis on ethics in relation to concerns of coastal communities. In 2010, he joined Professor Jean-Paul Vanderlinden’s research team at the Observatoire de Versailles SQY. Juan’s dedication to interdisciplinary research has connected him with local, regional, national, and international experts through his work on projects such as (i) THESEUS: "Innovative technologies for safer European coasts in a changing climate" and (ii) ARTISTICC: "Adaptation to Transdisciplinary Research and Policy Community Centered Approach", this project seeks to analyze how knowledge, in all its dimensions, can be mobilized to foster coastal adaptation to climate change. Also, since 2007, Juan has drawn from his firm commitment to collaborative, ethical, and interdisciplinary research to coordinate Marine Sciences For Society: a network of concerned scientists working to enhance the dialogue between marine scientists and society as a whole. Bethany Jorgensen graduated from the University of Chicago in 2008 and is currently a graduate student at the University of Maine. She has been an editor for Marine Sciences For Society since 2009, and became a co-coordinator of the group in 2014. Sabine Pahl is Associate Professor (Reader) in Psychology at Plymouth University. Her applied areas of interest are marine conservation, restorative environments and energy, especially the role of behaviour change. Sabine is part of a Southwest team that has demonstrated the psychological benefits of ‘blue space’ environments such as oceans, and the detrimental effect of marine litter. She was the lead social scientist in the MARLISCO project focused on Marine Litter in European Seas (marlisco.eu). The role of the Plymouth team was to evaluate science-in-society activities in 14 European countries plus Turkey, summarised in a guide for influencing behaviour. Sabine is one of only two social scientists involved in the United Nations GESAMP Working Group 40 on ocean microplastics, and the Phase 1 report contains recommendations for more behavioural science. Since 2010 Sabine has had research funding from various agencies including EPSRC, ESRC, FP7, DEFRA and H2020. She is the Secretary for the International Association of Applied Psychology’s Environmental Division and was the lead convenor for two sessions (behaviour change and perceptions of climate change) at the UNFCC COP21 science conference in Paris in July, which summarised the science to inform the COP 21 policy meeting in December this year. Richard C. Thompson is a Professor at the Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre School of Marine Science and Engineering at Plymouth University. Jean-Paul Vanderlinden is a Professor of Environmental Studies and Ecological Economics at the Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ). Additionally, he is the coordinator of the “Adaptation Research, a Trans-disciplinary Transnational Community and Policy Centred Approach” project from the International Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research.

Part I: Abstracts from Oral Presentations

Plastic and Restricted Heavy Metals

Citizen Research for Ocean Conservation

Microplastics in Sewage Sludge: Effects of Treatment

Sources and Fate of Microplastics in Swiss Surface Waters

Microplastics in a UK Sewage Treatment Plant

Fates of Plastic Pollution in a Major Urban River: Persistence and Bacterial Colonization of Oil-based Plastics and Bioplastics in the Yarra River, Melbourne, Australia

Presence and Abundance of Microplastics in Sediments of Tributaries of the River Thames, UK

Microplastics in Different Compartments of the Urban Water Cycle: From the Sources to the Rivers

Validation of a Density Separation Technique for the Recovery of Microplastics and Its Use on Marine Freshwater Sediments

Microplastics in Singapore’s Coastal Mangrove Ecosystems

A Quantitative Analysis of Microplastic Pollution Along the South-eastern Coastline of South Africa

Plastic Pollutants Within the Marine Environment of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Reading Between the Grains – Microplastics in Intertidal Beach Sediments of a World Heritage Area: Cleveland Bay (QLD), Australia

Patterns of Plastic Pollution in Offshore, Nearshore, and Estuarine Waters of Perth, Western Australia

Microplastics in Israeli Mediterranean Coastal Waters

Occurrence of Microplastics in the South Eastern Black Sea

Microplastics Migrations in Sea Coastal Zone: Baltic Amber as an Example

Simultaneous Trace Analysis of Nine Common Plastics in Environmental Samples via Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (Py-GCMS)

Extensive Review on the Presence of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Seafood: Data Gaps and Recommendations for Future Risk Assessment for Human Health

State of Knowledge on Human Health Implications on Consumption of Aquatic Organisms Containing Microplastics

Effects of PVC and Nylon Microplastics on Survival and Reproduction of the Small Terrestrial Earthworm Enchytraeus crypticus

Microplastics: Who Is at Risk?

Understanding Microplastic Distribution: A Global Citizen Monitoring Effort

Marine Litter in the North Sea: Experiences With Monitoring

Voluntary Beach Cleanups at Famara Beach, Lanzarote—Fighting Marine Litter Invasion and Accumulation Locally

The Wider Benefits of Cleaning Up Marine Plastic: Examining the Direct Impacts of Beach Cleans on the Volunteers

“Agüita con el Plástico”: Society as Part of the Solution of Plastic Pollution

No Plastic Campaign Makes a Difference in Island of Principe Biosphere Reserve

Logistics of Coastline Plastic Cleanup and Recycling: A Literature Review and Research Opportunities

Tackling Microplastics on Land: Citizen Observatories of Anthropogenic Litter Dynamics Within the MSCA POSEIDOMM Project

Environmental Science Education: Methodologies to Promote Ocean Literacy

Microplastics, Convergence Areas, and Fin Whales in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea

Microplastics in Marine Mesoherbivores

Investigating the Presence and Effects of Microplastics in Sea Turtles

Microplastics Presence in Sea Turtles

Factors Determining the Composition of Plastics From the South Pacific Ocean—Are Seabirds Playing a Selective Role?

Microplastics and Marine Mammals: Studies From Ireland

Primary (Ingestion) and Secondary (Inhalation) Uptake of Microplastic in the Crab Carcinus maenas, and Its Biological Effects

Plastic in Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) From the Norwegian Coast

Extraction and Characterization of Microplastics in Marine Organisms Sampled at Giglio Island After the Removal of the Costa Concordia Wreck

Floating Plastic Marine Debris in the Balearic Islands: Ibiza Case Study

Enzymes—Essential Catalysts in Biodegradation of Plastics

Ireland’s Microplastics: Distribution in the Environment and Interactions With Marine Organisms

Deposition of Microplastics in Marine Sediments From the Irish Continental Shelf

Where Go the Plastics? And Whence Do They Come? From Diagnosis to Participatory Community-Based Observatory Network

Distribution and Composition of Microplastics in Scotland’s Seas

Marine Litter Accumulation in the Azorean Archipelago: Azorlit Preliminary Data

Microplastics in the Adriatic—Results from the DeFishGear Project

Floating Microplastics in the South Adriatic Sea

Implementation of the Spanish Monitoring Program of Microplastics on Beaches Within the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. First Phase

Operational Forecasting as a Tool for Managing Pollutant Dispersion and Recovery

What Do We Know About the Ecological Impacts of Microplastic Debris?

Qualitative and Quantitative Investigations of Microplastics in Pelagic and Demersal Fish Species of the North and Baltic Sea Using Pyrolysis-GCMS: A Pilot Study

Microplastics Extraction Methods for Small Fishes, on the Road to a Standard Monitoring Approach

Microplastic Effects in Mullus surmuletus: Ingestion and Induction of Detoxification Systems

Assessment of Microplastics Present in Mussels Collected From the Scottish Coast

Bioavailability of Co-contaminants Sorbed to Microplastics in the Blue Mussel Mytilus edulis

Exploring the Effects of Microplastics on the Hepatopancreas Transcriptome of Mytilus galloprovincialis

Characterization, Quantity, and Sorptive Properties of Microplastics Extracted From Cosmetics

Beach Sweep Initiatives on the Acadian Coastline in Atlantic Canada

A Social-Ecological Approach to the Problem of Floating Plastics in the Mediterranean Sea

News Splash? A Preliminary Review of Microplastics in the News

Informing Policy Makers About State of Knowledge and Gaps on Microplastics in the Marine Environment

Microplastics in Cosmetics: Exploring Perceptions of Environmentalists, Beauticians, and Students

Plastics and Zooplankton: What Do We Know?

Microtrophic Project

Source to Sink: Microplastics Ingested by Benthic Fauna From Discharge Points to Deep Basins in an Urban Model Fjord

Uptake and Toxicity of Methylmethacrylate-Based Nanoplastic Particles in Aquatic Organisms

On the Potential Role of Phytoplankton Aggregates in Microplastic Sedimentation

Hitchhiking Microorganisms on Microplastics in the Baltic Sea

Microplastic Prey? An Assay to Investigate Microplastic Uptake by Heterotrophic Nanoflagellates

Microplastics in Seafood: Identifying a Protocol for Their Extraction and Characterization

Vast Quantities of Microplastics in Arctic Sea Ice—A Prime Temporary Sink for Plastic Litter and a Medium of Transport

Microplastics in the Bay of Brest (Brittany, France): Composition, Abundance, and Spatial Distribution

Plastic Litter: A New Habitat for Marine Microbial Communities

The Effects of Microplastic on Freshwater Hydra attenuatta Morphology and Feeding

Evidence of Microplastic Ingestion in Elasmobranchs in the Western Mediterranean Sea

Do Microplastic Particles Impair the Performance of Marine Deposit and Filter Feeding Invertebrates? Results From a Globally Replicated Study

Occurrence of Potential Microplastics in Commercial Fish From an Estuarine Environment: Preliminary Results

Improvements and Needs of Microplastics Analytical Control at Open Sea Opportunities for Monitoring at Canary Islands

A Novel Method for Preparing Microplastic Fibers

A New Approach in Separating Microplastics From Freshwater Suspended Particulate Matter

Microplastics—Microalgae: An Interaction Dependent on Polymer Type

Nearshore Circulation in the Confital Bay: Implications on Marine Debris Transport and Deposition at Las Canteras Beach

New Approaches for the Extraction and Identification of Microplastics From Marine Sediment

Using Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Floating Microplastics to Investigate Their Weathering History

The Size Spectrum as Tool for Analyzing Marine Plastic Pollution

Automated Analysis of µFTIR Imaging Data for Microplastic Samples

Solar Radiation Induced Degradation of Common Plastics Under Marine Exposure Conditions

Using the FlowCam to Validate an Enzymatic Digestion Protocol Applied to Assess the Occurrence of Microplastics in the Southern North Sea

DNA From the “Plastisphere”: An Extraction Protocol for Ocean Microplastics

Quality Assurance in Microplastic Detection

Part II: Abstracts from Posters

Are the Sinking Velocities of Microplastics Altered Following Interactions With Austrominius modestus and Sediment Particles?

Macro- and Microplastic in Seafloor Habitats Around Mallorca

Evaluation of Microplastics in Jurujuba Cove, Niterói, RJ, Brazil

Presence, Distribution, and Characterization of Microplastics in Commercial Organisms From Adriatic Sea

The Origin and Fate of Microplastics in Saltmarshes

Effects of Microplastics and Mercury, Alone and in Mixture, on the European Seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax): Swimming Performance and Subindividual Biomarkers

DNA Damage Evaluation of Polyethylene Microspheres in Daphnia magna

LITTERBASE: An Online Portal for Marine Litter and Microplastics and Their Implications for Marine Life

PLASTOX: Direct and Indirect Ecotoxicological Impacts of Microplastics on Marine Organisms

Community-Based Observatories Tackling MICROPLASTIC: Spanish Schools Pilot Project Based on seawatchers.org

Tackling Marine Litter: Awareness and Outreach in the Azores

Prevalence of Microplastics in the Marine Waters of Qatar’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

Microplastics Contamination in Three Planktivorous and Commercial Fish Species

Spatial Variation of Microplastic Ingestion in Boops boops in the Western Mediterranean Sea

Source, Transfer, and Fate of Microplastics in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea: A Holistic Approach

Microplastics in the Final Ocean Frontier

Microplastic Abundance and Distribution in the Intertidal and Subtidal Marine Environment Around a Major Urban Park in Vancouver, Canada

Microplastic Ingestion by Decapod Larvae

May Polystyrene Microparticles Affect Mortality and Swimming Behaviour of Marine Planktonic Invertebrates?

Improvement of Microplastic Extraction Method in Organic Material Rich Samples

Defining the Baselines and Standards for Microplastics Analyses in European Waters (JPI-O BASEMAN)

Effects of Long-Term Exposure With Contaminated and Clean Microplastics on Mytilus edulis

The City of Kuopio and Lake Kallavesi in the Finnish Lake District—A “Living Laboratory” for the Microplastic Pollution Research in Freshwater Lakes

Analysis and Quantification of Microplastics in the Stomachs of Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis) Stranded on the Galician Coasts (NW Spain)

First Report of Microplastic in Bycaught Pinnipeds

The Contribution of Citizen Scientists to the Monitoring of Marine Litter

Experimenting on Settling Velocity of Cylindrical Microplastic Particles

WEATHER-MIC—How Microplastic Weathering Changes Its Transport, Fate, and Toxicity in the Marine Environment

Uptake of Textile Polyethylene Terephthalate Microplastic Fibers by Freshwater Crustacean Daphnia magna

Microplastics Deposited on Two Beaches of the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean Sea): Study of the Spatial Heterogeneity

Effects of Microplastics on Digestive Enzymes in the Marine Isopod Idotea emarginata

Sinking Behavior of Microplastics

Pilot Study on Microlitter in the Surface Waters of the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea

Persistent Organic Pollutants Adsorbed on Microplastics From the North Atlantic Gyre

First Evidence of Microplastics in the Ballast Water of Commercial Ships

Microlitter Abundance in the Italian Minor Islands, Central Mediterranean Sea

In Search of the Plastic Accumulation Regions: Finetuning Ocean Surface Transport Models

Preliminary Assessment of the Microplastic Presence in the Gulf of Genoa (Italy, Ligurian Sea, Northwestern Mediterranean Sea)

Toxicity Assessment of Pollutants Sorbed on Microplastics Using Various Bioassays on Two Fish Cell Lines

Fate of Microplastics in Soft Marine Sediments

Microplastic as a Vector of Chemicals to Fin Whale and Basking Shark in the Mediterranean Sea: A Model-Supported Analysis of Available Data

Methodological Prerequisites For Toxicity Testing of Microplastics Using Marine Organisms

POPs Adsorbed on Plastic Pellets Collected in the Adriatic Region

The EPHEMARE Project: Ecotoxicological Effects of Microplastics in Marine Ecosystems

Suspended Microsized PVC Particles Impair the Performance and Decrease Survival in the Asian Green Mussel Perna viridis

Priority Pollutants in Microplastics From Beaches in Gran Canaria Island

Plastic Debris in Mediterranean Seabirds

Monitoring Plastic Ingestion in Selected Azorean Marine Organisms

Catching a Glimpse of the Lack of Harmonization Regarding Techniques of Extraction of Microplastics in Marine Sediments

Floating Plastics in the Sea: People’s Perception in the Majorca Island (Spain)

Plastics in the Mediterranean Sea Surface: From Regional to Local Scale

Analysis of Organic Pollutants in Microplastics

From the Sea to the Dining Table and Back to the Environment: Microlitter Load of Common Salts

Sandy Beaches Microplastics of the Crimea Black Sea Coast

Plastic Prey; Are Fish Postlarval Stages Ingesting Plastic in Their Natural Environment?

Microplastic Ingestion by Planktivorous Fishes in the Canary Current

First Quantification of Microplastic in Norwegian Fjords Through Nondisruptive Ad-hoc Sampling

Abundance of Microplastics and Adhered Contaminants in the North Atlantic Ocean

Microbes and Bioplastic

Marine Litter Monitoring for Coastal Management Indicator System Development: Citizen Science and Collaboration Communication Approach

Types and Concentration of Microplastics Found on Remote Island Beaches During the Race for Water Odyssey.

A Throwaway Society: Is Science Stuck With Single Use Plastic? What Can We Do About It?

Linking Education and Science to Increase Awareness of Marine Plastic Litter—Distribution of Plastic Waste on Beaches of the German Bight

Are Smaller Microplastics Underestimated? Comparing Anthropogenic Debris Collected With Different Mesh Sizes

Precipitation/Flotation Effect of Coagulant to Microplastics in Water

Personal Care and Cosmetics Products (PC-CPs): Is It Cleaning or Pollution?

Detection of Microplastics with Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) Microscopy

Part III: Lanzarote Declaration, June 21 2016

Part III. Lanzarote Declaration, June 21 2016

Lanzarote Declaration, June 21 2016

Part IV: Breaking Down the Plastic Age

Part IV. Breaking Down the Plastic Age

Breaking Down the Plastic Age

Part V: Where Next? The Road to Micro 2018 and Beyond

Where Next? The Road to Micro 2018 and Beyond