An assistant professor in Nova Scotia has been awarded a five-year grant to study the double impact of microplastics and climate change on aquatic organisms.
Jordan Park will conduct the research at Université Sainte-Anne using lobster larvae and zooplankton. Park hopes to trace whether microplastics end up in lobster found in Atlantic waters.
The grant for his research is through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Microplastics are tiny bits of plastic, many smaller than the diameter of a strand of hair. But they don’t start out that small, said Park — plastic wares like food packages end up in the ocean and get broken down over time.
“Through the weathering effect, they get degraded into smaller pieces, which makes them microplastics, or even further down into nanoplastics,” Park told CBC P.E.I.’s Island Morning.
“Since they’re so …