Elise Granek, professor of Environmental Science & Management at Portland State University explores collaborative research focused on the transition zone between land and sea at PSU’s Applied Coastal Ecology (ACE) lab. She, in collaboration with three students, published a chapter in Polluting Textiles: The Problem with Microfibres.
Granek worked with students Summer Traylor, Alexandra Tissot, and
Paul Hurst, to release the chapter entitled “Clothes Encounters of the Microfibre Kind” which compiles the effects that different types of fibers have on aquatic and land organisms.
PhD student Alexandra Tissot researched the effects that natural fibers have on aquatic and other organisms.
“There is no research on the effects of natural fibers at this point so it was important for me to talk about why this is a problem and to explore the potential toxicity of these fibers,” said Tissot.
Paul Hurst, PhD student, researched the effects of bio plastics and Summer Traylor, Master’s student, reviewed synthetic and semi synthetic fibers.
“Although we were all at different points in our education, we each brought our best skills to the table. This allowed us to look at the project from many different perspectives and create the best possible outcome,” said Traylor.
“The overall importance of the research is trying to expose more about micro plastics, where they're coming from, how they're getting into our environment, and what they're doing,” said Hurst.
Currently Traylor is focusing on quantifying anthropogenic particles (microplastics and other human modified particles ) in the muscle tissue of six species consumed as seafood here in Oregon and Tissot is working on research that focuses on pesticides as multiple stressors to aquatic invertebrates. Tissot explores the effects of pesticides in combination with each other and/or other pollutants or stressors, such as microfibers and increases in temperature, at various life stages.