2023 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Assessing the rainfall and tide effect on the presence and exposure of microplastics to zooplankton in subtropical estuaries intensely polluted by plastics
| Project/Area Number |
23K17048
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| Research Institution | Kyushu University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2023-04-01 – 2025-03-31
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| Keywords | microplastic / zooplankton / gulf of thailand / marine |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In the project's inaugural year, I conducted an oceanographic survey across the Gulf of Thailand during both wet and dry seasons, encompassing 12 sampling sites. This survey was developed in colaboration with SEAFDEC from Thailand. The objective was to assess the presence of microplastics in the water column and their ingestion by the zooplankton community. A total of 24 zooplankton and water samples were collected for each season, yielding 48 samples in total. Additionally, I actively engaged in collaborative international initiatives such as MOEJ and GPML-UNEP projects, aimed at standardizing microplastic analysis methodologies globally. This collaborative effort facilitated the development of standardized protocols, ensuring uniformity and comparability of research findings across diverse geographical regions.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The project is progressing well towards its objectives. So far, 50% of the collected samples have undergone pre-processing to identify microplastic composition in water and zooplankton. This involved analyzing zooplankton species composition and prepare individuals for microplastic isolation. Given the extensive sampling efforts across 2 seasons, this progress is commendable.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Future dissemination efforts for this research project entail utilizing preliminary findings to draft two manuscripts. Furthermore, I aim to showcase these results at the forthcoming MICRO 2024 conference in Spain, highlighting the valuable insights gleaned from the research.
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| Causes of Carryover |
The remaining budget will be moved for the next FY to end the laboratory improvement to accomplish sample processing during the last year of the project
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[Journal Article] Zooplankton as a suitable tool for microplastic research2023
Author(s)
Alfonso, M. B., Lindsay, D. J., Arias, A. H., Nakano, H., Jandang, S., & Isobe, A
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Journal Title
Science of the Total Environment
Volume: 905
Pages: 167329
DOI
Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
