Acronym:
PLASTOX
Project Title:
PLASTOX – Direct and indirect ecotoxicological impacts of microplastics on marine organisms
Duration:
01/06/2016 – 31/12/2018
Principal Investigator NOVA.id.FCT/FCT-UNL:
Maria Helena Costa
Abstract:
The PLASTOX project will investigate the ingestion, food-web transfer, and ecotoxicological impact of microplastics, together with persistent organic pollutants (POPs), metals and plastic additive chemicals associated with them, on key European marine species and ecosystems. It will also study the temporal dynamics of microplastics colonisation by microbial communities in the field and the influence of microbial biofilms on ingestion rates and POP toxicity. The influence of microplastics physicochemical properties (size, shape, surface area and composition) on these processes will be evaluated. PLASTOX will combine field-based observations, laboratory tests, mesocosm and manipulative field experiments to study the ecological effects of microplastics.