8th Baltic Earth Scientific Online Colloquium on 2 June 2025 with Sonja Ehlers

The effects and fate of plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems

Sonja Ehlers
Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW)
Rostock, Germany

Plastic pollution is a worldwide environmental problem and small plastic particles (i.e. microplastics, which are plastic particles < 5 mm) are frequently found in animals like mussels and fish. Furthermore, it is well known that larger animals such as whales and sea turtles can get entangled in discarded fishing gear. However, despite the existing large body of literature on plastic pollution, there are still relatively unexplored aspects of plastic pollution which will be addressed in this talk. Plastic is not only consumed by animals but can serve as material for building animal constructions like nests and larval cases and as settlement sites. Once attached to plastic, sessile animals can be transported over large distances which might facilitate the spread of invasive species. The consequences of these animal-plastic interactions are still understudied. Moreover, it has recently been found that discarded plastic pollution can turn into geological plastic forms. For example, plastic abrasion along rocky coastlines can encrust rocks with plastic and, thus, alter substrates. Furthermore, burnt plastic often has a rock-like appearance and is, therefore, overlooked during beach clean-ups. This is especially detrimental because burnt plastics can emit toxic substances. Also, during burning, plastic can melt together with natural materials like wood, mussel shells and pebbles which alters the plastic agglomerate bulk density, sinking behavior and fate in the environment. This talk will provide an introduction to these understudied topics and increase the awareness of plastic pollution effects.

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