Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Understanding Microplastics In Freshwater: From Little Stream To Big River, Morgan Anderson

Geography: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

The purpose of this study is to better understand how microplastics move through rivers. Microplastics can come from various sources, but the main characteristic of them is their size. These plastics have diameters between 10 nanometers and 5mm. Because these particles are easily confused with food sources, ingestion and bioaccumulation of microplastics in many aquatic organisms has been a hot topic for concern (Besseling et al, 2017; Liedermann et. al, 2018; Nel et. al, 2018; Siegfried et. al, 2017; Windsor et. al, 2019). Ingestion of these microplastics can be detrimental to both human and ecological health due to pathogen accumulation …