Quantification and Comparison of Microplastic Contents in Wild Mussels and Maricultured Oysters from Humboldt Bay, California using Enzymatic Digestion Methods

Presentation Year

2019

College or Department

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Short Description of your Research or Creative Project (700 characters or less)

This research evaluates the microplastic (MP) contents of commercially maricultured Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and wild mussels (Mytilus edulis) from Humboldt Bay (HB), California. Bivalves were collected from each of three different locations in HB, and oysters were cultivated in HB. All bivalves were digested with proteolytic enzyme complexes, vacuum filtered, and MP's were quantified by microscopic examination. All samples contained MP's, and significantly different concentrations of MP particles were found between bivalves collected from different locations. Results also suggest that Corolase 8000 is a more efficient enzyme complex than Corolase 7089 for this purpose.

Permission to Publish Work

No