Microplastics Effects in Mussels Reported

According to a report accepted March 26, 2020 for publication in the journal Environmental Research Letters by researchers with the University of Plymouth UK https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab83ae “… Numerous taxa are at risk from microplastics … [The researchers] examined how change in spatial arrangement of the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, interacts with different flow speeds to effect retention of microplastic over reef surfaces and ingestion risk … Our results show that clumped spatial arrangements reduce boundary layer velocities, and increase turbulence, boundary layer thickness and plastic retention over reef surfaces under faster flow conditions, increasing plastic ingestion by 3-fold. Our findings suggest that the structural arrangement and rugosity of natural reef structures may create natural sinks of anthropogenic pollution, and species like Mytilus that are also important species for human consumption, while disproportionately susceptible to microplastic pollution, may be useful bioindicators of microplastic pollution …” #MicroPlastics #PlasticWaste #SincleUsePlastic