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The project MICROBEEF: MICROplastic effects on marine BEnthic Ecosystems Functioning. Preliminary results and call for network.
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Researchers launched the MICROBEEF project to investigate the effects of environmentally relevant microplastic concentrations — including both fragments and microfibers — on marine benthic ecosystem functioning through manipulative experiments on marine sediments. Preliminary results and collaboration opportunities from this study were presented, aiming to fill knowledge gaps about how accumulated microplastics interact with and impair benthic biological processes.
Aquatic ecosystems are globally polluted with plastic waste, which is now considered one of the greatest environmental challenges of the 21st century. Plastic debris is dispersed across all environmental matrixes as microplastics (MP) in the form of fragments and microfibers (MF) and marine sediments are widely recognized as the ultimate accumulation zone within marine environment. Yet, it is not clear if accumulated particles could interact with surrounding sediments, eventually impairing marine benthic ecosystems functioning. With these premises, the project MICROBEEF aims to understand through manipulative experiments the bio-ecological effects of environmentally relevant concentrations ( Also see: https://micro2024.sciencesconf.org/558996/document
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The project MICROBEEF: MICROplastic effects on marine BEnthic Ecosystems Functioning. Preliminary results and call for network.
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Researchers presented preliminary results from the MICROBEEF project investigating microplastic effects on marine benthic ecosystem functioning, focusing on how microplastic fragments and microfibers accumulated in marine sediments may impair sediment ecology and biogeochemical processes. The project also called for network collaboration to expand research on how plastic debris interacts with benthic communities.
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