Who’s Eating Who In Aquatic Systems? | How Food Webs Are Affected By Microplastics

How do microplastics impact aquatic ecosystems? What can happen if an entire food web of aquatic organisms is exposed to microplastic contaminants?

Garth Covernton, a researcher who studies the interactions between microplastic pollution and aquatic ecology, joins the podcast today to enlighten us on these critical questions…

Garth is a University of Toronto Arts and Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow working in the Rochman lab and the McMeans lab as part of the pELAstics project. Through his work, Garth is on a mission to “provide conservation managers and policymakers with the simplified frameworks required to protect aquatic ecosystems”.

Join us now to learn about:

1) The types of freshwater that Garth is conducting his research in.
2) What food webs are, and what they can tell us about microplastic contamination.
3) The most commonly used and produced polymers that contaminate aquatic systems.
4)The mechanisms of analysis used to determine how microplastics move through different ecosystems.
5) Animals that are more at risk for ingesting microplastics.

Want to find out more about Garth and his research? Click https://garthcovernton.wordpress.com/ now!

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/30PvU9C