school project- Anyone have info on plastics & it's effects on our oceans?

[ahullsb]

I have changed my presentation to focus on some alarming articles I read about this. I am going through articles and journals in the library, but I was hoping my reefcentral friends might have more current knowledge or information relating to this topic? I'm only allowed two web sources, but newspaper or journal articles that happen to be online won't be considered web sources for this project.

[Putawaywet]

You can still probably do the bulk of your research online. Many newpaper articles and magazines are now online.

Try looking for references discussing sea turtles mistaking clear plastic bags for jellyfish and then either choking on them out right, or having them lodge in their intestinal tracts so they slowly starve to death.

Here's one that I found with a quick google
http://www.turtletopia.com/2007/07/09/plastic-bags-are-not-turtle-food/

It's still a web souce but they offer search tips: "Do a Google search for “turtle plastic bag” and you will find thousands of pages detailing how marine life, not just turtles, are suffering from our careless use and discarding of plastic waste.



Another good one is the impact from discarded Mono-filliment fishing line and the damage it can inflict when sea animals become entangled in them.

http://www.healthebay.org/news/2007/08_02_monofilament/default.asp

Can you include pictures? Pictures of dead animals are great at driving home your point. Nothing like a dead baby seal with a hundred feet of fishing line wrapped around it's neck to shock the consciousness of your readers.

Brett

[ahullsb]

Yes I will include many pictures :) I'm struggling to find two more sources that aren't considered online sources. National Geographic will be one if I can find it. I need one more news source...

[babblack1]

This place has a bunch of info you might be able to use. these guys are researching the pacific gyre and general effects of plastics on the oceans
http://www.algalita.org/

Google search for plastic+pellets+ocean
http://www.google.com/search?q=plastic+pellets+ocean&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://plasticsareforever.org/

[mfp1016]

Instead of focusing on how plastics are killing us and the environment's status; why don't you focus on the science behind plastics and talk about how scientists in the industry are tweaking the molecular structures in order to gain favorable degradation rates.

[mfp1016]

Seeing as how you are in college, I strongly discourage you to use information or sources that are special interest groups ie websites that end in .org. Just my .02 as a scholar

[bassettmd]

There are many known effects of the degradation/release of chemicals within plastics that cane have some very disruptive effects on both human and fish endocrine systems. Specifically these chemicals have the ability to alter the sex of the fish via pathways of estrogen agonists or antagonists. I propose you do a search for EDCs (endocrine disrupting chemicals) and see if anyone has studied it as it relates to marine life. I know this has been studied extensively here at the University of Colorado at Boulder as it relates to fresh water fish. I can dig up the professors name if you would be interested in more info. :D

[mfp1016]

What I was proposing was a good-natured expose of some of these "evils" are being combated. Not another "plastics are killing mankind."

[mfp1016]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11631185#post11631185 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bassettmd
There are many known effects of the degradation/release of chemicals within plastics that cane have some very disruptive effects on both human and fish endocrine systems. Specifically these chemicals have the ability to alter the sex of the fish via pathways of estrogen agonists or antagonists. I propose you do a search for EDCs (endocrine disrupting chemicals) and see if anyone has studied it as it relates to marine life. I know this has been studied extensively here at the University of Colorado at Boulder as it relates to fresh water fish. I can dig up the professors name if you would be interested in more info. :D

Also, in the case of polymers, degradation is a materials science term used to mean the FAVORABLE rate of degradation. Degradation does not imply pollution; these are two different chemical reactions.

[billsreef]

So what do materials science people call non favorable degradation? At least in the Marine Sciences, and likely the fresh water folks as well, degradation simply means the breakdown of the parent material. A polymer, or any other type of compound, can degrade into other chemicals compounds. What something degrades into does not have to be favorable to for the process to be referred to has degradation. BTW the endocrine disrupting problems of such products of plastic degradation and hormones getting into waterways from sewage and runoff is also very well studied in coastal marine environments.

[bassettmd]

Thanks Billsreef... this is a topic that I myself have been very interested in for some time simply because of the fact that I use tap water in my personal reef aquarium and sometimes wonder what effects this may have on it inhabitants. This would be a very interesting topic to research however you MUST have a good science background because the physiology is/can be very intense.

[billsreef]

It is an interesting topic indeed, as well as quite disturbing to know that in fact these hormones are released into our waters in sufficient concentrations to alter the sex of fish in our estuaries.

[ahullsb]

Thank you guys for the help! I appreciate it. I gave the speech a few days ago and believe I found some pretty convincing evidence. And I stayed away from special interest groups :)