{"id":27171,"date":"2016-10-26T13:08:47","date_gmt":"2016-10-26T17:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=27171"},"modified":"2021-11-10T16:38:21","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T20:38:21","slug":"figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm","title":{"rendered":"Figuring Out How Microplastics Move From Mussels To Fish"},"content":{"rendered":"

Microscopic beads and fabrics float in our waterways, get ingested by fish and other creatures, and impact the environment in lots of negative ways. But despite that knowledge, there is little we know about how these microplastics first enter aquatic food webs. <\/p>\n

In a pilot study, researchers at the University of Notre Dame are studying the dynamics of just how microscopic plastics are first transferred from filter feeders to fish. Their investigation is using asian clams and sculpins to pinpoint the interactions underway.<\/p>\n

The researchers originally wanted to use round gobies, a prolific invasive fish in Lake Erie. But they opted for sculpin instead because of limitations on using gobies enforced by the Linked Experimental Ecosystem Facility at Notre Dame, where much of their study is taking place. Sculpin are like round gobies in that they are bottom-dwelling and lack a swim bladder.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sculpin are found more in Great Lakes tributaries. They\u2019re sort of a classic fish in those systems,\u201d said Katherine O\u2019Reilly, doctoral student in the Stream and Wetland Ecology Lab at the university. \u201cThe USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) did a survey that found these rivers have a ton of microplastics in them and may be a source to the Great Lakes. They\u2019re not exactly the same, but we thought sculpin were a good proxy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"microplastics

Mottled sculpin. (Credit: Katherine O\u2019Reilly \/ University of Notre Dame)<\/p><\/div>\n

In the effort, she and collaborator Whitney Conard, a doctoral student in the same lab, are injecting fluids filled with microscopic bits of fluorescent plastic into the tissues of the asian clams, which serve as proxies for zebra and quagga mussels. From there, they are feeding the mussels to sculpin and later image how the microplastics pass through. Matthew Leevy, research assistant professor of biological sciences at Notre Dame, helps with that.<\/p>\n

Feeding takes place in a large water bath, with each sculpin in its own tiny mesh enclosure. These are typically held underwater by rocks that scientists source from their surroundings. During this step of the effort, conditions in the water bath are monitored using a YSI handheld water quality meter. The thinking is that it\u2019s best to keep conditions level for all the sculpin as they chow down.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s really just to monitor our mesocosm setup. It makes sure conditions are good for sculpin, to make sure they\u2019re healthy and ready to eat,\u201d said O\u2019Reilly. \u201c… We want to minimize variables in water and light. We could even do different treatments or clams with different microplastic levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t always so straightforward, says O\u2019Reilly, noting that the advantage of such pilot studies is that they allow scientists to figure out what\u2019s the best approach. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe first tried to feed the clams microplastics in an algae mixture. \u2026 But the clams were really sensitive and some of them actually died off,\u201d said O\u2019Reilly. \u201c… The beauty of a pilot project is that we can figure out what works and what doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"microplastics

Water bath containing mesocosms for each sculpin in the study. A YSI handheld water quality meter makes sure conditions stay in a healthy range. (Credit: Katherine O\u2019Reilly \/ University of Notre Dame)<\/p><\/div>\n

At this point, investigators are just trying the experiment with sculpin. In the future, they may scale up efforts to see how other fish higher in the food chain may be affected. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe main idea is to see how these microplastics move from a filter feeder to that first level,\u201d said O\u2019Reilly. \u201cMaybe a future study would be to look at how predators like smallmouth bass are affected, and trace it along the food web.\u201d<\/p>\n

She and others expect that the results of the work may show that the microplastics pass through sculpin fairly quickly. Unlike microfibers, O\u2019Reilly says, the fluids can probably move out more easily and not get stuck. Hopes are to wrap up fieldwork before winter sets in and have results by early 2017.<\/p>\n

But it will be interesting to learn more about the time it takes for the microscopic bits to pass. Scientists are looking to nail down just how long they persist.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically, does it impact the fish before excretion? I think if we were looking at microfibers, it would get more tangled up,\u201d said O\u2019Reilly, noting that each mussel used in the investigation does already have a baseline of microplastics in its tissues before getting injections. \u201cIt will be interesting to see what we get here.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for microfibers, other investigations looking at their movement through fish have shown entanglement is commonly an issue in the small intestine. One recent summer survey on the St. Joseph River completed by an undergraduate student, with O\u2019Reilly\u2019s help, also shows that they could be much more common than has been thought. <\/p>\n

The summer effort showed that microfibers from clothing and other things are everywhere, even in the effluent of surrounding wastewater treatment plants. Those usually aren\u2019t equipped with the technology needed to remove microfibers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing what you can find in a water sample. We even found microscopic styrofoam particles. But microfibers were more constant,\u201d said O\u2019Reilly. \u201cEveryone thinks of microplastics, but really it seems like the most common is microfiber.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top image:\u00a0Asian clams, Corbicula fluminea, which are used as proxies for zebra and quagga mussels. (Credit: Katherine O\u2019Reilly \/ University of Notre Dame)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A pilot study by scientists at University of Notre Dame is charting the processes by which microplastics move from filter feeders to sculpin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":27166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,458,459],"tags":[118,60,109,136,446],"class_list":["post-27171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-articles","category-fish-science","category-fish-science-fish-science","tag-aquatic-species","tag-featured","tag-news-ticker","tag-pollution","tag-university-of-notre-dame"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"\nFiguring Out How Microplastics Move From Mussels To Fish<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A pilot study by scientists at University of Notre Dame is charting the processes by which microplastics move from filter feeders to sculpin.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Figuring Out How Microplastics Move From Mussels To Fish\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A pilot study by scientists at University of Notre Dame is charting the processes by which microplastics move from filter feeders to sculpin.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Environmental Monitor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-10-26T17:08:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-10T20:38:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/musselfish_feat.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"470\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Daniel Kelly\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Daniel Kelly\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Daniel Kelly\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/847643ff7cab0510299c8b13d204eac7\"},\"headline\":\"Figuring Out How Microplastics Move From Mussels To Fish\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-26T17:08:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-10T20:38:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm\"},\"wordCount\":919,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/musselfish_feat.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"aquatic species\",\"featured\",\"news ticker\",\"pollution\",\"University of Notre Dame\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Featured Articles\",\"Fish Science\",\"Fish Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm\",\"name\":\"Figuring Out How Microplastics Move From Mussels To Fish\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/musselfish_feat.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-26T17:08:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-10T20:38:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/847643ff7cab0510299c8b13d204eac7\"},\"description\":\"A pilot study by scientists at University of Notre Dame is charting the processes by which microplastics move from filter feeders to sculpin.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/musselfish_feat.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/musselfish_feat.jpg\",\"width\":420,\"height\":470,\"caption\":\"Asian clams, Corbicula fluminea, which are used as proxies for zebra and quagga mussels. (Credit: Katherine O\u2019Reilly \\\/ University of Notre Dame)\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Environmental Monitor\",\"description\":\"Application and technology news for environmental professionals\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/847643ff7cab0510299c8b13d204eac7\",\"name\":\"Daniel Kelly\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1b1a53273429ff6b46dfea6cf5731e1278d990bbf6958f4de0ca57131c443dd2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1b1a53273429ff6b46dfea6cf5731e1278d990bbf6958f4de0ca57131c443dd2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1b1a53273429ff6b46dfea6cf5731e1278d990bbf6958f4de0ca57131c443dd2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Daniel Kelly\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/daniel-kelly\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Figuring Out How Microplastics Move From Mussels To Fish","description":"A pilot study by scientists at University of Notre Dame is charting the processes by which microplastics move from filter feeders to sculpin.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Figuring Out How Microplastics Move From Mussels To Fish","og_description":"A pilot study by scientists at University of Notre Dame is charting the processes by which microplastics move from filter feeders to sculpin.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm","og_site_name":"Environmental Monitor","article_published_time":"2016-10-26T17:08:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-11-10T20:38:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":420,"height":470,"url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/musselfish_feat.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Daniel Kelly","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Daniel Kelly","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm"},"author":{"name":"Daniel Kelly","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/847643ff7cab0510299c8b13d204eac7"},"headline":"Figuring Out How Microplastics Move From Mussels To Fish","datePublished":"2016-10-26T17:08:47+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-10T20:38:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm"},"wordCount":919,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/musselfish_feat.jpg","keywords":["aquatic species","featured","news ticker","pollution","University of Notre Dame"],"articleSection":["Featured Articles","Fish Science","Fish Science"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm","url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm","name":"Figuring Out How Microplastics Move From Mussels To Fish","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/musselfish_feat.jpg","datePublished":"2016-10-26T17:08:47+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-10T20:38:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/847643ff7cab0510299c8b13d204eac7"},"description":"A pilot study by scientists at University of Notre Dame is charting the processes by which microplastics move from filter feeders to sculpin.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/figuring-microplastics-move-mussels-fish.htm#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/musselfish_feat.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/musselfish_feat.jpg","width":420,"height":470,"caption":"Asian clams, Corbicula fluminea, which are used as proxies for zebra and quagga mussels. (Credit: Katherine O\u2019Reilly \/ University of Notre Dame)"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/","name":"Environmental Monitor","description":"Application and technology news for environmental professionals","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/847643ff7cab0510299c8b13d204eac7","name":"Daniel Kelly","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b1a53273429ff6b46dfea6cf5731e1278d990bbf6958f4de0ca57131c443dd2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b1a53273429ff6b46dfea6cf5731e1278d990bbf6958f4de0ca57131c443dd2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1b1a53273429ff6b46dfea6cf5731e1278d990bbf6958f4de0ca57131c443dd2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Daniel Kelly"},"url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/author\/daniel-kelly"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27171"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32819,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27171\/revisions\/32819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}