Dr. Hank Carson Marine Debris Research at UH Hilo

Transcription

1 Dr. Hank Carson Marine Debris Research at UH Hilo

2 Kamilo Point Hilo

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9 What are the implications of replacing natural beach sediment with plastic sediment in increasing concentrations? How do the meso- and micro-plastic particles change how water and heat move through a beach? Methods: Measure porosity, permeability, and heat transfer through field-collected and artificially-constructed sediment cores of varying plastic concentration. Document grain-size distribution of both plastic fragments and natural sediment, separated by floatation. Describe the extent to which plastic mixes into the depth of the beach, and analyze the chemical composition of the plastic fragments.

10 Mean concentration of plastic by weight (sandy beach) 0.0% 1.0% 2.0% 3.0% 4.0% 0-5 Sediment depth (cm) Plastic mixes deeper in rocky beaches:

11 Kamilo Beach plastic fragments are primarily polyethylene and polypropylene Polyethylene Polypropylene Polystyrene Polyurethane n = 248 Composition of Kamilo Beach plastic fragments analyzed by FT-IR spectroscopy

12 Artificial cores show that permeability increases with plastic concentration. permeability (meters / day) p = (ANOVA, post-hoc LSD tests) A B C 0 Control 0.0% Kamilo 3.3% Mean Middle 15.0% Ground Max 30.2% Observed Extreme 50.0% 0% in top 5 cm 3.3% in top 5 cm 15% in top 5 cm 30% in top 5 cm 50% in top 5 cm (0% overall) (1.5% overall) (7.3% overall) (15.9% overall) (29.4% overall)

13 Plastic fragments act as very good insulators % degrees C above room temperature % 15% 30.2% 50% hours under heat lamp

14 As the amount of plastic fragments increases: Permeability Increases Subsurface temperature decreases How will this affect organisms that live or lay eggs in beach sediment?

15 Fish Ingestion of Plastics: from the prey s perspective

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18 How much of the large plastic is bitten? Sept March 2012 Total Bitten % Bitten Total

19 Who is biting it? Parrotfish? Albatross?

20 It is difficult to match bites to specific organisms, however it is clear that a wide range of tooth sizes bite plastic.

21 Does whoever is biting plastic have a color preference?

22 All Plastic Bitten Plastic Black, White and Grey are under-represented in the bitten sample Blue, Green and Yellow are over-represented in the bitten sample

23 Foreign Sources Where does Kamilo plastic originate?

24 Local Sources

25 Hilo is the only major population center upstream on Kamilo Beach

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27 Collections September March 2012: ~30 kg of anthropogenic debris, 74% plastic by weight cigarette butts 190+ plastic bottles 170+ plastic bags 11 pieces of footwear Spray paint, sports equipment, you name it

28 Plastic debris moves with rain events R 2 = p < debris rainfall 400 accumulated debris (kg) accumulated rainfall (mm) 0.0 September October November December January February 0

29 Drift blocks made of wood simulate the fate of plastic debris

30 Hilo Kamilo?

31 Is the Hilo the source of Kamilo trash? Hilo Bay October Releases (446 blocks): Low tide release: 0 recoveries High tide release: 53 recoveries (23%) 42 to Maui 7 to Lana i 4 to Kaho olawe Hilo Kamilo

32 Maui County Recoveries

33 How do the results compare with surface current model predictions?

34 Hilo Bay March Releases (405 blocks) One release has three different outcomes: 6 1) Retained locally 2) Transported south toward Kamilo 3) Transported north toward Maui

35 How do the results compare with surface current model predictions?

36 The Plastic Fouling Community

37 May 2012 July 2011

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41 Rafting on Natural Materials

42 Marine Invasions on Hawaii Leather Mudweed Hookweed Gorilla Seaweed Upside-down Jellyfish

43 Even if plastic-mediated invasions are not common, what effect on the pelagic ecosystem does the plastic rafting community have?

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49 Impacts of the plastic rafting community on pelagic ecosystems: Step 1: Describe the abundance and diversity of the community, from microorganisms to macroorganisms. Identify possible invasive species. Step 2: Estimate feeding and growth patterns or other potential interactions. Step 3: Speculate on ecosystem-level effects of these new or more-abundant organisms as producers, consumers or competitors.

50 Funding: Will J. Reid Foundation Collaborators: Cheryl King, KIRC Emily Lindstrum, UHH Marcus Eriksen, 5 Gyres and the crews of the Sea Dragon expeditions Matt Kaylor, U Minnesota Stephen Colbert, UHH Megan Lamson, HWF Nikolai Maximenko, UHM Jan Hafner, UHM Derek Toloumu, UHH Davis Nakashima, UHH Joseph Atafua, UHH Karla McDermid, UHH Capt. Childers, UHH students of MARE 410, UHH and block party participants