Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Consumption Of Microplastics Impacts The Growth And Fecal Properties Of The Marine Copepod, Acartia Tonsa, Emily Ann Shore

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Microplastics (mm) are ubiquitous in the global environment and are increasingly recognized as a biological hazard, particularly in the oceans. Due to the small and pervasive nature of these particles, zooplankton have been known to consume and egest microplastics. Though zooplankton play critical roles in marine food webs and in carbon storage through carbon rich fecal pellets, we know little about the effects of microplastics on early life stage growth, reproductive output, and carbon storage. Here, I investigated the effects of ingestion of low-density Polystyrene beads (5 µm) by the copepod Acartia tonsa on (1) early life stage (naupliar) growth, …