Effects of Ocean Plastic Pollution on Aquatic Life
A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Pollution".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 October 2024 | Viewed by 638
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Plastic originates from a diverse range of sources and is a ubiquitous and semi-permanent pollutant that haunts the world’s oceans. Rather than being degraded, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces and can persist in marine ecosystems for hundreds to thousands of years. The complexity and scale of this issue often means that the risks of plastic pollution differs between different geographic locations and various ocean depths. An assessment of the threats of marine plastic pollution to aquatic life and the solutions to these risks require a multidisciplinary approach, including an assessment of the environmental impacts of different plastics and their chemical additives, monitoring and modelling of the accumulation and transport of plastics and an assessment of the sources of the leakage of plastic into marine environments. As such, we aim to publish high-quality papers on a wide scope of topics relating to ocean plastic pollution and its impact on marine life, including the following:
- Traditional and innovative approaches for monitoring marine plastic pollution, including the use of AI.
- Modelling the source, transport and fate of marine plastic pollution across different spatial scales.
- Systems thinking, including system mapping and causal loops.
- Ecotoxicology of microplastics and nanoplastics.
- Ecosystem-level impact assessments/studies.
- Biodiversity and ecosystem services.
- Risk assessments, meta-analyses, knowledge gap analyses and literature reviews.
- Multi-stressor studies.
Dr. Samantha Garrard
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- marine plastic pollution
- microplastics
- nanoplastics
- plastic debris
- ADLFG
- modelling sources
- transport and fate of plastics
- AI and machine learning
- ecotoxicology
- ecosystem functioning
- systems thinking
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Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Microplastics: A threat to marine ecosystems and a potential desalinization drinking water security concern
Authors: Ángeles Arias Rodríguez
Affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health. Universidad de La Laguna. Campus de Ofra S/N., 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Abstract: Microplastics, a diverse group of polymeric materials ranging from 1 µm to 5 mm, have emerged as a significant environmental concern. Estimates suggest that 1.5-5% of global plastic production ends up as marine debris, posing a substantial threat to marine and terrestrial ecosystems. While the direct impacts of microplastics on these ecosystems are well-documented, their indirect effects on the food chain and, consequently, human health, are gaining increasing attention. In this context, water quality and safety assume paramount importance, particularly in regions where water is a precious natural resource.
This study investigates the presence of microplastics in seawater, desalinated water, and public water supply samples. Seawater samples were collected from the desalination plant intake area, desalinated water samples were obtained at the end of the desalination process, and public water supply samples were taken from a residential dwelling. All samples were filtered through pre-incinerated stainless steel meshes and subsequently examined using a binocular microscope.
Microplastics were identified and categorized using micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (µ-FTIR) analysis. Additionally, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was employed to identify and categorize the polymer types present in the plastic fraction isolated from the desalination plant.
Title: Minimal impacts of tyre particles on estuarine meiofaunal biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
Authors: Samantha Garrard
Affiliation: Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth. PL1, United Kingdom
Title: A review of the impact of plastic pollution on SE Asian seagrass ecosystem services
Authors: Samantha Garrard
Affiliation: Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth, UK
