Why we study microplastics and plankton — and why it matters
Microplastics — plastic particles smaller than 5 mm — are now found in every corner of the world's oceans, rivers and estuaries. They do not disappear; they accumulate, fragment, and interact with marine life in ways we are still only beginning to understand.
Plankton are at the heart of this story. These microscopic organisms — phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish larvae — form the very foundation of marine food webs. They produce more than half of Earth's oxygen, drive the cycling of carbon through the ocean, and sustain the fisheries that billions of people depend on.
Yet we know surprisingly little about how microplastics affect plankton at the level of communities and ecosystems. Most research to date has focused on individual organisms in laboratory conditions — often using plastic concentrations far higher than those found in nature. Planktastic is changing that.
By combining seasonal field campaigns in Portuguese estuaries with a novel autonomous detection technology and robust ecological analysis, Planktastic will generate the large, real-world datasets needed to assess the true environmental risk that microplastics pose to plankton and marine ecosystems.
Establish the first comprehensive, open-access dataset of microplastics and plankton from Portuguese estuaries and coastal areas — a scientific reference point that researchers worldwide can build upon.
Create a new autonomous spectroscopic instrument capable of detecting and characterising microplastics and plankton in the field, in real time — making monitoring faster, cheaper and more scalable than ever before.
Investigate how microplastics affect fish larvae, phytoplankton and zooplankton communities in real estuarine conditions — from ingestion and physical harm to disruption of photosynthesis and ecological structure.
Translate our scientific findings into a practical toolkit that environmental managers, policy-makers and monitoring programmes can adopt — in Portugal and beyond — to tackle plastic pollution in coastal seas.