Ecoa Lab

Plastic pollution in coral reefs: mapping the entry and flow points in trophic webs

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Despite the large number of studies dedicated to assessing plastic ingestion by fauna, most of them are descriptive and little progress has been made in understanding the factors related to the flow of plastic in trophic webs. A holistic ecosystem view of this problem is essential if we are to understand the factors linked to plastic ingestion and its flow between environmental compartments and transfer in the trophic web. In this context, this project aims to understand how plastic flows in a reef ecosystem, from its accumulation in the environment to its entry into the trophic web and flow through different trophic levels. The aim is to identify the points of entry and flow of plastic in the trophic web, investigating how the ecological characteristics of the species and the characteristics of the different types of plastic interact and influence the chance of ingestion of this material.

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