Microplastics (or plastic particles that are smaller than 5 mm) have also been acknowledged as a truly ubiquitous contaminant in recent years, even showing up in our food. Studies demonstrating the presence of microplastics in freshwater rivers, lakes and in atmospheric deposition have shown that microplastics don’t just affect oceans, and therefore need to be researched in freshwater environments.
In 2019, researchers are monitoring a remote lake (Lake 378) for microplastics—all with the ultimate goal of manipulating a lake in a few years to discover how the lake and its inhabitants respond to microplastics.
Click here to read a short blog post about the threat that microplastics pose to our environment.
Full title: The pELAstic project
Project dates: 2018-2030
Lead scientist(s): Diane Orihel, Michael Paterson, Michael Rennie, Chelsea Rochman
Experimental lake(s): 378
Related topic(s): Plastics
Collaborators: University of Toronto, Lakehead University, Queen’s University
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Full title: Macroplastics – The influence of plastic pollution on fish behaviour in freshwater boreal lakes
Project dates: 2024-
Lead scientist(s): Michael Paterson
Experimental lake(s): 302
Related topic(s): Plastics
Collaborators: University of Toronto