Zebra mussel

The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas and has become an invasive species in many countries worldwide. Since the 1980s, the species has invaded the Great Lakes, Hudson River, and Lake Travis. The species was first described in 1769 by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in the Ural, Volga, and Dnieper Rivers. Zebra mussels get their name from a striped pattern commonly seen on their shells, though it is not universally present. They are usually about the size of a fingernail, but can grow to a maximum length around . Their shells are D-shaped, and attached to the substrate with strong byssal fibers, which come out of their umbo on the dorsal (hinged) side. Ecology Zebra mussels and the closely related and ecologically similar quagga mussels are filter-feeding organisms; they remove particles from the water co

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The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the east-central interior of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean

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This course provides students with an overview over the basics of environmental chemistry. This includes the chemistry of natural systems, as well as the fate of anthropogenic chemicals in natural systems. It enables students to apply general chemical concepts to natural systems.

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The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the east-central interior of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean

Lake Erie (ˈɪəri ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is

An invasive or alien species is an introduced species to an environment that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causin

Sources and fate of microplastics in Swiss surface waters

Luiz Felippe De Alencastro, Florian Faure, Olivier Pompini

While plastic pollution in marine environments is getting better known and is the subject of a continuously growing number of publications, freshwaters still receive too little attention. Some studies worldwide focused on the nature and concentrations of microplastics in freshwater bodies, but data is so far very limited and fragmentary. Microplastics were studied in Swiss surface waters since 2012, first in order to show the reality of this contamination, and later to better understand its nature and extent. Microplastics were found in significant concentrations in all the sampled lakes and rivers, both on the water surface, beach sediments and benthic sediments, as well as in organisms (fishes, birds and zebra mussels). They were shown to contain potentially toxic additives, as well as to adsorb hydrophobic contaminants (Faure et al. 2015). Some pathways into the water bodies have then been studied including WWTPs, urban runoff waters, soils or storm overflows. Potential sources and pathways of (micro-) plastics in the Lake Geneva watershed are now the focus, on the basis of the fractions of plastics that enter the environment at all stages of their life cycle depending on their use, and on the plastic types and quantities that can be found in the different environmental compartments. This dual approach of material flow modelling and a strong integration of measured environmental data is the first step towards producing a mass balance of microplastics in the Lake Geneva watershed.

2016

Micro-)plastic assessment in freshwater ecosystems and the environment

Luiz Felippe De Alencastro, Florian Faure, Olivier Pompini

2016

Sources and Fate of Microplastics in Swiss Surface Waters

Luiz Felippe De Alencastro, Florian Faure, Olivier Pompini

While plastic pollution in marine environments is getting better known and is the subject of a continuously growing number of publications, fresh- waters still receive too little attention. Some studies worldwide focused on the nature and concentrations of microplastics in freshwater bodies, but data is so far very limited and fragmentary. Microplastics were studied in Swiss surface waters since 2012, first in order to show the reality of this contamination, and later to better understand its nature and extent. Microplastics were found in significant concentrations in all the sampled lakes and rivers, both on the water surface, beach sediments, and benthic sediments, as well as in organisms (fishes, birds, and zebra mussels). They were shown to contain potentially toxic additives, as well as to adsorb hydrophobic contaminants (Faure et al., 2015). Some pathways into the water bodies have then been studied including Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTPs) urban runoff waters, soils or storm overflows. Potential sources and pathways of (micro-) plastics in the Lake Geneva watershed are now the focus, on the basis of the fractions of plastics that enter the environment at all stages of their life cycle depending on their use, and on the plastic types and quantities that can be found in the different environ- mental compartments. This dual approach of material flow modeling and a strong integration of measured environmental data is the first step towards producing a mass balance of microplastics in the Lake Geneva watershed.

Elsevier2016