EARLY HEARING DETECTION AND INTERVENTION VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
MARCH 2-5, 2021

(Virtually the same conference, without elevators, airplane tickets, or hotel room keys)

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5/24/2018 | 11:00 AM - 11:15 AM | PLASTIC LITTER IN FRESHWATERS: ABUNDANCE, MOVEMENT, AND BIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS | 330 A

PLASTIC LITTER IN FRESHWATERS: ABUNDANCE, MOVEMENT, AND BIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS

Plastic litter is a pervasive, near-permanent feature of all ecosystems and is indicative of global change. Understanding the sources, abundance, fate, and biological interactions of plastic litter in the environment is critical to set priorities for adaptive management and materials research. The ecology of plastic litter is a large and rapidly growing field of study in marine biology, with far fewer contributions from freshwater scientists to date. Here, we review the status of research in ‘garbage’ ecology, including rates of plastic production, disposal, and accumulation. We review how basic methods and paradigms in ecosystem ecology can quantify plastic pools, fluxes, and impacts on biota in freshwater ecosystems. Methodological approaches include surveys, experimental additions of plastic, and analysis of citizen-science datasets. While not yet a major voice in the broader field of plastic ecology, stream ecologists are well positioned to quantify the role of plastic in lotic ecosystems using concepts from the existing literature, and thereby make significant contributions to plastic budgets and ecosystem management on a global scale.

Urban
Connectivity
Ecosystem

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Presenters/Authors

Timothy Hoellein (), Loyola University Chicago, thoellein@luc.edu;