http://faculty.wwu.edu/shulld/esci%20101/Cole2011Plastics.pdf

Microplastics as contaminants in the marine environment: a review.

This review of 68 studies compares the methodologies used for the identification and quantification of microplastics from the marine environment. Three main sampling strategies were identified: selective, volume-reduced, and bulk sampling. Most sediment samples came from sandy beaches at the high tide line, and most seawater samples were taken at the sea surface using neuston nets. Four steps were distinguished during sample processing: density separation, filtration, sieving, and visual sorting of microplastics. Visual sorting was one of the most commonly used methods for the identification of microplastics (using type, shape, degradation stage, and color as criteria). Chemical and physical characteristics (e.g., specific density) were also used. The most reliable method to identify the chemical composition of microplastics is by infrared spectroscopy. Most studies reported that plastic fragments were polyethylene and polypropylene polymers. Units commonly used for abundance estimates are “items per m2” ...

/pdf/microplastics-in-the-marine-environment-a-review-of-the-fg3wzn5tjn.pdf

Microplastics in the Marine Environment: A Review of the Methods Used for Identification and Quantification

http://resodema.org/publications/publication9.pdf

The physical impacts of microplastics on marine organisms: a review.

Small plastic detritus, termed “microplastics”, are a widespread and ubiquitous contaminant of marine ecosystems across the globe. Ingestion of microplastics by marine biota, including mussels, worms, fish, and seabirds, has been widely reported, but despite their vital ecological role in marine food-webs, the impact of microplastics on zooplankton remains under-researched. Here, we show that microplastics are ingested by, and may impact upon, zooplankton. We used bioimaging techniques to document ingestion, egestion, and adherence of microplastics in a range of zooplankton common to the northeast Atlantic, and employed feeding rate studies to determine the impact of plastic detritus on algal ingestion rates in copepods. Using fluorescence and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy we identified that thirteen zooplankton taxa had the capacity to ingest 1.7–30.6 μm polystyrene beads, with uptake varying by taxa, life-stage and bead-size. Post-ingestion, copepods egested faecal pellets lade...

/pdf/microplastic-ingestion-by-zooplankton-3c3abyd39g.pdf

Microplastic Ingestion by Zooplankton

http://www.expeditionmed.eu/fr/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Van-Cauwenberghe-2014-microplastics-in-cultured-shellfish1.pdf

Microplastics in bivalves cultured for human consumption.

https://jenskjeld.info/artikler/Franeker2011_FulmarEcoQO_WebPage1.pdf

Christine Blaize

Papers

Monitoring plastic ingestion by the northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis in the North Sea