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Note: this is a Facebook post.

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19.3 POUNDER OUT OF TAUPO...........Each year around October 1st I add the discarded nylon I've picked up over the...
Posted by Didymo Dave on Saturday, October 2, 2021

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Connected 2017 Level 2 - Taking Action

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by Philipa Werry

Students at Wilford School in Petone were shocked to discover the amount of rubbish finding its way onto their local beach. Find out how they investigated the issue by using traps to collect the rubbish entering the stormwater system.

Back to series
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by Philipa Werry Students at Wilford School in Petone were shocked to discover the amount of rubbish finding its way onto their local beach. Find out how they investigated the issue by using traps to collect the rubbish entering the stormwater system. Back to series Return to top ^

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Do animals break plastics down? Some do, and it's not good news.

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Do animals break plastics down? Some do, and it's not good news.

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Microplastics are widespread in seas and oceans, and their harmful effects on many different marine animals are well known. However, we know relatively little about the microplastics in our freshwater rivers, streams and lakes.

We still don't know exactly where they come from, where they end up - and crucially - what damage they can cause if they get into food chains.

Until now, plastic fragmentation had largely been attributed to processes such as sunlight or wave action, which can take years or decades. But it turns out a tiny shrimp-like creature can do the same job much faster.

I am a researcher who specialises in microplastics in the environment. In my latest study, colleagues and I have shown that microplastics (plastic pieces smaller than 5 mm) in freshwaters are being broken down into even smaller nanoplastics (smaller than one micrometre, at least five thousand times smaller in size) by a type of freshwater invertebrate animal, and that this may happen much faster than previously estimated.

Our results, newly published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, highlight the role of biological fragmentation of microplastics, which has been understudied so far.

The animal in question is a 2 cm-long crustacean, the freshwater amphipod Gammarus duebeni. This specific species lives in Irish streams, but it belongs to a bigger group of invertebrates that are common in both freshwater and the oceans around the world.

Our finding therefore has big consequences for how we understand the environmental fate of microplastics.

Our first experiments had been carried out to understand the potential negative effects (if any) of microplastics in the amphipods. However, some surprising early results led me to run new experiments focused on gathering evidence to show that microplastics were being fragmented biologically - by G. duebeni themselves.

In order to find out about this, I exposed the amphipods in the laboratory to a certain type of microplastics that have a specific colour dye. I then dissected the digestive tracts of the amphipods and visualised them under a fluorescence microscope, which is able to track the dyed-microplastic in animal tissue.

We then concluded that Gammarus duebeni is able to fragment microplastics into different shapes and sizes, including nanoplastics, in less than four days.

We were able to track such fragmentation because the microplastics that we used were originally "microbeads" with a perfect spherical shape. Any plastic with irregular shapes therefore must have been fragmented by the animals, and nearly 66 percent of the microplastics found in the guts had indeed been fragmented in this way.

Remarkably, the proportion of smaller plastic fragments was highest when the amphipods were "purged" in the lab in a clean environment with no plastics but with their food. This finding indicates that biological fragmentation could be closely related to the feeding process.

We also ran some quality control checks, several side experiments to make sure that the plastic was indeed being fragmented by the amphipods and not some other source, and that we were accurately visualising the fluorescence particles.

Microplastics in the food chain

Why does this matter? We already know that microplastics can accumulate in the gut of seabirds and fish, and our current understanding is that the smaller nanoplastic particles could even penetrate cells and tissues, where their effects could be much harder to predict.

Therefore the finding that such a common animal can rapidly produce vast numbers of nanoplastics is particularly worrying. Since the crustaceans we looked at are eaten by fish and birds, any nanoplastic fragments that they produce may also be entering the food chain.

For example, scientists at the University of Cardiff recently showed for the first time that microplastics had been transferred up the food chain in a river, from small invertebrates through to dippers, the only songbird that can swim underwater. They looked at dipper regurgitates and faecal pellets from both adults and chicks and found microplastics in all of them.

We still don't know exactly what effect this microplastic transfer will have on the birds, especially in the early stages of their lives. But our results on the biological fragmentation of microplastics will help us to understand the role that animals can have in determining the fate of plastics in our waters.
Alicia Mateos Cárdenas, Postdoctoral Researcher, University College Cork. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Alicia Mateos Cárdenas, The Conversation

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Tiny Crustaceans Are Fragmenting Microplastics Into Even Smaller Nanoplastics

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Microplastics are widespread in seas and oceans, and their harmful effects on many different marine animals are well known. However, we know relatively little about the microplastics in our freshwater rivers, streams and lakes. We still don't know exactly where they come from, where they end up - and crucially - what damage they can cause if they get into food chains.

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Taupō & Tūrangi Weekender

Who would have thought chucking a piece of clothing in the lake would result in a trout's tongue being nearly cut in half?

The net result of pollution was posted on social media this week by Taupō Fishing Club president Shirley Fraser, who is keen to promote the message of keeping our waterways clean.

Shirley caught the trout in Lake Taupō and could see the trout was in poor condition.

But she was horrified to find it was due to a piece of thread running through the trout's mouth and gills, nearly cutting the trout's tongue in half and slicing through its body.

"The trout would have been suffering and struggling to eat."

At first Shirley thought the piece of thread was fishing nylon and says it is the first time she has seen a fish damaged by pollution.

Shirley googled the brand tag attached to the thread and concluded it was originally from clothing or an outdoor cushion.

Shirley says Taupō Fishing Club environmental co-ordinator Janet Oldfield has been actively encouraging members and anglers to remove rubbish from the side of fishing banks, along with the predator trapping work club members carry out at Mapara Stream.

Over the years, Tidy Taupō's Carol Lamb has collected a container's worth of micro and small litter from the shore of Lake Taupō, including plastic threaded bird's nests. She says the photos taken by Shirley are important.

"They make the damage of rubbish real."
Related articles
Department of Conservation fisheries team community ranger James Barnett said trout health is a serious issue, with anglers travelling from all around New Zealand and around the world to sample the quality of fishing in the Taupō District.

"We were saddened to see the photographs of the unfortunate trout.

"This case underlines the importance of taking rubbish home or disposing of it safely in rubbish bins."

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Taupō angler's horror at damage to trout from ingested rubbish - NZ Herald

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Taupō & Tūrangi Weekender Who would have thought chucking a piece of clothing in the lake would result in a trout's tongue being nearly cut in half? The net result of pollution was posted on social media this week by Taupō Fishing Club president Shirley Fraser, who is keen to promote the message of keeping our waterways clean.

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Series: School Journal Level 2 November 2018
Plastic Planet (poem)
Learning area: English

Curriculum level: 2

Reading year level: 4
Plastic Free Challenge
Learning area: English, Mathematics and Statistics, Science
Curriculum level: 2
Reading year level: 4

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Follow the arrows for a potential progression of inquiries. Any image can be clicked on to see a larger version, or go to the link. Any writing in red is a link.

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For the rubbish/plastics side of things contact Shannon at TDC: shanson@taupo.govt.nz

For the water, food-webs side of things contact the Trout Centre education programme:
educator@troutcentre.com

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We like to use a simplified scientific method for younger students:

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We like to use a simplified scientific method for younger students:

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1. Question

2. Guess

3. Test

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Plastics, buoyancy, and freshwater food webs

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Plastics, buoyancy, and freshwater food webs

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Exercise for older students

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Diagram source below: also an excellent backround knowledge resource for kaiako.

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Images: R Thompson

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It might seem obvious, it comes from people! Check out these diagrams for more ideas on the detail - students may need some prompting to think outside the box.

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Image source

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Plastics are materials composed of repeating chainlike-molecules called polymers (see image below), and are usually derived from fossil fuels.
Many everyday objects are made out of plastic.
It is a material that is often strong, lightweight, flexible and durable. Due to plastic’s durability and artificial nature, it doesn’t biodegrade easily (and usually leaves toxins). It does however photodegrade, which means plastics are broken down into smaller pieces by the absorption of light from the suns UV rays. Oxygen and heat can also stimulate degradation. Small plastic pieces like microplastics  (<5mm) can travel further, and affect a wide range of organisms.

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Is Lake Taupō clean? (how can you tell?)

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You'll need large, preferably clear, containers to test this in.
Keep it simple: for younger students, simply use items you have found in the sand.
Question: will they float or sink?

1. Guess: make a guess for each item you plan on testing

2. Test: one at a time place items in container of water, give a little push to submerge (so the surface tension of the water no longer has an impact)

3. Discuss!

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Background knowledge
Although there has been a lot of research about the impacts of plastics on marine organisms there isn't a lot on freshwater. Here are some things we know or can guess:

In some places both fish and crustaceans (e.g. kōura) have been shown to feed less when they eat microplastics - i.e. they feel full so feed less on real food

It is likely that filter feeders such as kākahi may be affected by microplastics if they are present

Plastics are often relatively inert (non-reactive), but may bind harmful chemicals and we don't know if this affects organisms that consume them.

Microplastic fibres (from synthetic textiles) may have a greater potential for harm

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Let us know how you go - or if you'd like support

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Let us know how you go - or if you'd like support

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educator@troutcentre.com

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How can we make change ourselves, and influence others so our waterways stay litter-free?

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How can we make change ourselves, and influence others so our waterways stay litter-free?

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To make a difference, decide on the following (we've given a few options, but don't feel limited to these):

Who: ourselves, our families, our school, our council, our neighbours

What: change behaviour, know more about their impact, care

Why: so that we don't have plastic impacting our lake like we learned

How: posters, radio interviews, information booklets

When: may be appropriate if students wish to target a particular event

Where: where will your target audience be? Where is a good place to show them information?

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Not all of these things will be easily testable, but here are some possible examples:

Survey people who use lakes and rivers for recreation to find out how they feel about swimming/rafting/fishing with rubbish

Ask anglers to check the guts of trout to see if there are any traces of plastic (we'll be very impressed if you manage this!)

Ask local hapu how they would feel about the mauri of their awa or roto (river or lake) if it were polluted

Talk to a hydro-power company about how plastic debris might impact on power generation

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How might plastics in our waterways affect humans?

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How might plastics in our waterways affect humans?

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Looking at the ways that humans use freshwater, how might plastic affect these? (how would it affect tourism? recreation? kai?)

Similarly, look at the food web of Lake Taupō - with humans at the top. If other organisms are affected by plastics, might we be?

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Who, or what, lives in our rivers and lakes?

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Who, or what, lives in our rivers and lakes?

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Brainstorm things living in freshwater - see if students can begin making links of 'who-eats-who'.
Guess, then research where different organisms might feed (e.g. on the surface? at the bottom?). Compare this to your 'buoyancy' test for plastics. Which organisms might be at risk of consuming or becoming entangled in which plastics?

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Brainstorm ways that humans use freshwater - the Padlet below has a number of activities to go deeper.

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We're focused on water, but you could also investigate how different materials move in front of a fan to look into the role of wind in litter movement.

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This Padlet has some great background information and links to activities to investigate where rainfall goes in natural and urban environments.
For looking at pathways of litter to the lake we recommend the 'Stormwater Walk'.

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How does water flow? We love the activity in this guided lesson to investigate how water flows from mountains to low points.
You'll need:

A4 paper (at least one side blank)

Dark coloured vivids (blue or purple)

Stickers or tape for fixing the experiment

Table coverings

Spray bottles

For all instructions click through to the link (you can skip straight to 'activity' if you don't want the intro)

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Streamer, a website created by the US Geological Survey, lets you explore rivers all over the United States.

Click on Go To Map, then type your location in the search box on the upper right.

Find a nearby river. To see where that river starts, choose Trace Upstream (at the top of the screen), then click on the river.

To see where the river ends, choose Trace Downstream (at the top of the screen), then click on the river.

For a surprise, search for the Mississippi River and trace it upstream and downstream. The Mississippi is the biggest river in the United States!

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If you floated down a river, where would you end up?

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Streamer, a website created by the US Geological Survey, lets you explore rivers all over the United States. Click on Go To Map, then type your location in the search box on the upper right. Find a nearby river. To see where that river starts, choose Trace Upstream (at the top of the screen), then click on the river.

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How do plastics get into our rivers and lakes?

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How do plastics get into our rivers and lakes?

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Brainstorm ways that plastics might get into our waterways, answers could include human factors and environmental factors.

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Guess: What things in nature might cause plastics to break down? E.g. water, wind, sun, worms
Test option 1:

Choose one item (e.g. a plastic spoon)

Choose multiple experimental conditions, e.g.:

- in a jar in the shade (this could be your control to compare all others to)

- in a jar in the sun

- in a jar of water in the shade

- in a jar of water in the sun

- in a jar of soil from the garden

- anything else your students want to test

Guess or predict what might happen in each case

Observe over multiple weeks

Test option 2:

Choose multiple items made of different materials (e.g. plastic, wood, paper, cotton, metal)

Subject these items to identical experimental conditions (you could have two different conditions, e.g. freshwater and 3.5% saltwater/seawater equivalent)

Guess or predict what might happen in each case

Observe over multiple weeks

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Collect several large containers of sand from the Lake Taupō foreshore (students could do this themselves).
Students:

Decide what they expect to see in sand from the Lake; write down their hypothesis

Use gloves, tweezers to sort through a subsample.

Separate items into types (e.g. natural, artificial)

Compare the results to their expectations

Separate artificial materials into categories (e.g. cigarrette butts, bottle caps, plastic bag fragements). Identify which are plastic and which are other materials (e.g. metals)

Weigh, measure volume, or estimate the amount of debris of each type

Graph results

Discuss.