A marine biologist from San Antonio Oeste, in Río Negro, was awarded for further studies on microplastics. He received the Whale Conservation Institute’s Australis award for young researchers.
Is about Maria Eugenia Orregowho is pursuing a doctorate at the National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco. She will study the effects of microplastics on the intake and nutrition of crustaceans such as crabs, crabs, lobsters and prawns. (which are known as decapods due to their rigid shell).
The evaluation committee highlighted about Orrego’s project that “It is interesting and relevant to carry out. The results will provide tools to understand the potential impact of microplastics on benthic organisms in Patagonia, generating a database to protect it. In addition, this project will be able to provide answers to decision makers, since it will work on a fishing object, and therefore, it is of interest to the Ministry of the Environment.”
The chosen research focuses on the possible existence of microplastic contamination in these specieswhich are sold and consumed regularly by residents and tourists.
Could these microplastics affect people if the study were to determine their actual existence? Until now, there is little research on the topic worldwide, because this type of pollution has only been studied for 3 or 4 years.
What is known is that its intake causes gastrointestinal and reproductive problems, cancer and abortions in pregnant women.
Hormonal disorders were also detected, and it is presumed that women would be more affected than men. For all these reasons, the award-winning work is considered valuable because it can shed more light on the topic.
Orrego carries out his project at the Center for Applied Research and Technology Transfer in Marine Resources “Almirante Storni” (CIMAS) in Río Negro.
In dialogue with Rio Negro Newspaper, Orrego said that “the vast majority of plastic waste in the ocean seems to come from land, but the use of plastics in the sea also generates waste. “Plastics from fishing gear (for example, nylons in nets), which are denser than seawater, are commonly lost and tend to accumulate in bottom sediment, making them bioavailable.” Furthermore, he highlighted that “the category called ‘microplastics’ is the main concern.”
One of their investigations focused on the European green crab, which is widely distributed and a predator par excellence, and of great commercial interest for the Asian area. “The effect that microplastics can have on them is unknown, within their entire reach network, including humans,” said the graduate in marine biology.
The results obtained so far indicated the presence of these plastic fibers in both the gills and the stomach of these crabs. something complex because this species, of commercial interest, is consumed in its entirety. The greatest abundance of plastics (transparent, black, blue and red fibers) were seen in the stomach part. They were counted from a minimum of 2 per individual to a maximum of 40.
It should be noted that on the beaches of San Antonio Oeste where the samples were collected, fishing waste is the main source of plastic pollution. From nets to ropes (braided from plastic threads), entire boxes or remains, and bottles with tied ropes that are used as buoys.
How microplastics are classified
Microplastics are divided into primary and secondary. The primary ones are bottles, plastic light bulbs and fishing waste. The secondary ones are the product of the degradation of the primary ones into smaller fragments.
Asked what she will do with the prize, The scientist said that she will finance “the bioassays proposed in my doctorate. The dynamic is to see the ingestion of microplastics in two species of crabs in the Golfo Nuevo (Chubut) and see how harmful their effects are,” she said.
The young woman recalled: “When I started this doctorate I thought that the environment was less contaminated, but I found a difficult panorama. A little worse than imagined. I am aware that eradicating plastic is not an easy task. The idea of my work is that I can provide necessary evidence of its toxic effect, and provide tools so that its consumption is the least harmful to human beings.”
In 10 years, Orrego imagines finishing his doctorate and facing a post-doctorate. “Ecotoxicology caught me and I would like to continue in that field. “It was also ‘in the pipeline’ for me to finish a master’s degree in oceanography, in Chile.”
Regarding his decision to study marine biology, he confessed that it began when my parents took me to Mundo Marino on vacation., the oceanarium that is located in the city of San Clemente del Tuyú, Partido de La Costa, in the province of Buenos Aires. Added to that was “a teacher I had in high school, who taught me to love biology, and that’s how I started with the idea of being a biologist,” she acknowledged.
What does the Australis Award consist of?
Orrego was not the only San Antonian to stand out with her contributions. Because Josefina Cuesta Núñez, from the same town, also obtained a distinction for her work on the diet of two species of sole from the San Matías Gulf.
The prize that the young women obtained and that was also awarded to three other scientists from different sites (Betiana Melisa Coronel, Florencia Di Marco and Francisco Yakimovicz Niccolini) was established by the Whale Conservation Institute in 2016 (20 years after the foundation of that non-governmental organization) to support initiatives by researchers and students that contribute to the conservation of the biodiversity of Patagonian marine fauna.
It consists of financial aid intended to finance field and laboratory taskswhether from undergraduate students of the higher cycle, doctorate in biological sciences or Conicet scholarship holders, so that they can develop and deepen their projects in Chubut and Río Negro.
2024-02-11 04:30:00