Wednesday, 19 September 2018

Microplastics Get to Surprising Places

A study, using fluorescent microplastic beads, has shown that the larval forms of mosquito that live in freshwater and filter feed on algae take up these now almost ubiquitous pollutants and retain them in their bodies when they become blood-sucking (the females) or juice drinkers (the males) adults (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/19/microplastics-can-spread-via-flying-insects-research-shows). As the adults are fed up by larger organisms such as dragonflies as well as insectivorous birds and bats, this means that the microplastics are reaching areas that other environmental contaminants cannot reach!
-

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Sandwich Island Saga 39. Extreme weather events

It's not, of course,  just flash floods that will increase with global heating. Heat waves, droughts and wild fires will all become more...

  • Stepping On the Gas?
      It should hardly be called a study. A  Which comparison looked at levels of nitrogen dioxide and small particulates (PM 2.5s) in 5  Londo...
  • Gridlock in European Cities
      Europe has a city congestion problem. In 2023, London was the most gridlocked location, closely followed by Paris and Dublin. In that year...
  • Charging Electric Vehicles (For Road Use)
    It's necessary, where possible, to replace diesel and petrol-fueled vehicles by electrical equivalents. Electric vehicles (EVs) don...