2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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5/20/2019 | 2:15 PM - 2:30 PM | ANTHROPOGENIC LITTER IN URBAN STREAMS: SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLASTIC AND ITS ROLE IN LEAF LITTER BREAKDOWN | 251 AB

ANTHROPOGENIC LITTER IN URBAN STREAMS: SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLASTIC AND ITS ROLE IN LEAF LITTER BREAKDOWN

Rivers are considered a source of anthropogenic litter (AL) to oceans, but AL abundance, distribution, and ecosystem effects are rarely measured within streams. Plastic AL is common in debris dams where leaf litter and coarse particulate organic matter accumulate. Debris dams are critical sites of leaf breakdown and habitats for stream biota, but interactions between leaf and plastic litter are unknown. We measured the spatial distribution of AL within 11 debris dam and non-debris dam pairs, spaced ~1 km apart in urban streams in Chicago and Baltimore. We measured leaf breakdown and analyzed the composition of macroinvertebrate and microbial (i.e., bacterial, fungal, algal) communities in 3 litter bag treatments: leaves alone, plastic alone, and mixed. Results show higher AL density, particularly plastic, in debris dams than non-debris dam sites. Plastic did not reduce leaf breakdown rates or affect macroinvertebrate consumer communities. However, biofilm communities on leaves and plastic were different, and remained distinct when in mixed leaf-plastic litter bags. These data show that plastic litter sustains novel microbial communities and follows the spatial distribution and downstream transport patterns of naturally occurring leaf litter.

Algae
Dams
Microbial

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Presenters/Authors

Lisa Kim (), Loyola University Chicago, lisahaneulkim@gmail.com;