Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation Michael Wiest and

Archipelagos: - marine conservation institute on a Greek island - about 30 interns at

What we did in Greece: -Surveys (terrestrial & marine) -Necropsy (golden jackal) -Jackal surveys

Marine surveys: -Underwater visual census

What are microplastics? • Plastic fragments <5 mm (>500µm) • Typically: polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene,

Source and prevalence • Macroplastics: fishing gear, industrial production, littering, and waste effluent •

Broader Implications • Plastics resist biodegradation due to short biological timespan • Can accumulate

Archipelagos past research • 18 H. forskali and 4 H. tubulosa sampled: – 24

Methodology • Sediment: – Add saturated Na. Cl soln. Agitate and let settle –

Ongoing research • Altered methodology for mass measurements • Take sediment samples at depth

Sediment results Average plastics at depth Fibers Total plastics at depth

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Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation Michael Wiest and Regina Wang

Archipelagos: - marine conservation institute on a Greek island - about 30 interns at a time from many different countries

What we did in Greece: -Surveys (terrestrial & marine) -Necropsy (golden jackal) -Jackal surveys (Emily’s work) -Wildlife Library Main Project: -Microplastics!

Terrestrial Surveys: Chameleons!

And: hedgehogs and terrapins

Marine surveys: -Underwater visual census

Awesome Cuttlefish!

And finally: MICROPLASTICS!!!

What are microplastics? • Plastic fragments <5 mm (>500µm) • Typically: polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride • plastic resin pellets, plastic product fragments, fibres, rubber, Styrofoam, plastic sheets and sponges

Source and prevalence • Macroplastics: fishing gear, industrial production, littering, and waste effluent • Microplastics: result from photo, thermo-oxidative, bio, and physical degradation. Chemicals contain them. Shipping • Found on all 6 continents • Accumulate in high pressure areas (gyres)

Broader Implications • Plastics resist biodegradation due to short biological timespan • Can accumulate in organisms • Microplastics accumulate Persistent Organic Pollutants (polychlorinated biphenyl, Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethy lene (DDT), Biphenol A)

Archipelagos past research • 18 H. forskali and 4 H. tubulosa sampled: – 24 hour sampling period – Plastics found in all samples (max 32 fibres) • 114 beach sites in 2009, 49 sites in 2011. – Plastics at all sites – Max concentration was 112 fibres/sample

Methodology • Sediment: – Add saturated Na. Cl soln. Agitate and let settle – Filter and analyze through microscope. • Holothurians: – Keep in filtered sea water 24 hrs. – Return to sea. Agitate and filter sea water. Analyze

Ongoing research • Altered methodology for mass measurements • Take sediment samples at depth rather than distance from shore. • Added sampling in proximity of Holothuria for concentration comparison • Sampling sites on Samos and six sites on Oinousses • Regina analyzed fish guts to study travel through trophic levels.

Sediment results Average plastics at depth Fibers Total plastics at depth

Fibers/gram sediment Holothuria results

Concentration difference (Holothuria)

Some pictures of fun times!