Prevalence Fate and Effects of Plastic in Freshwater Environments: New Findings and Next Steps

摘要

At a time when a global pandemic rightly holds our collective attention, environmental issues have taken a backseat to the ongoing battle against Covid-19. However, when normality resumes (or a new normal emerges), these environmental concerns will return to the fore and few issues are as tangible or emotive as plastic pollution. The presence of plastics in aquatic environments, particularly freshwater environments that are relied upon on a daily basis (e.g., for water and food supply, as well as recreation and tourism), is a constant reminder of the indelible mark that our species is leaving on the planet. Indeed, whilst plastic pollution has been described as a potential hallmark of the Anthropocene [1], our understanding of its presence and impacts on freshwater systems still lags far behind the corresponding knowledge that has been amassed from marine (coastal and oceanic) locales [2,3,4]. In this Special Issue on the “Prevalence, Fate and Effects of Plastic in Freshwater Environments”, original research articles report the latest findings describing the occurrence of plastics and microplastics (MPs, <5 mm in size) within previously uninvestigated rivers and lakes. As important as mapping plastics pollution across global freshwaters is gaining an understanding into the effects of the interactions between MPs, formed from the degradation of larger debris (secondary MPs) or purposely manufactured microscopic particles (primary MPs), and biota. Laboratory-based mechanistic studies examined the effects of MP exposure to freshwater organisms, with endpoints ranging from cellular to behavioral. This Editorial aims to highlight the papers presented within the Special Issue and place them into the broader context of freshwater plastics research.