Scientific knowledge achieves its purpose when it is shared, understood, and acted upon. These projects highlight the importance of making research accessible beyond academic circles, whether through media, public engagement, or collaboration with policymakers. By connecting evidence with wider audiences, we can help ensure that knowledge about our oceans informs decisions, inspires action, and contributes to the sustainable management of our oceans.
Microplastics: A Macro-Disaster (Whale Sharks & Basking Sharks)
The question: Can filtering megafauna like whale sharks ingest microplastics and what might that tell us about exposure pathways?
As project leader of Microplastics: A Macro-Disaster (Save Our Seas Foundation), I led a team exploring microplastic ingestion in endangered whale sharks (Maldives) and basking sharks (Ireland), investigating how these giants of the sea might be exposed to plastic pollution even in their remote habitats.
Save Our Seas Foundation – Project page
Why this matters:
Whale sharks filter enormous volumes of water as they feed making them vulnerable to accumulating plastics even at low ambient concentrations.
By non-invasively sampling faecal matter, our team sought empirical evidence of microplastic ingestion, strengthening the connection between plastic pollution and marine megafauna.
The project also emphasized outreach: collaborating with local NGOs in the Maldives and Ireland, stakeholder workshops, and science-society dialogues to translate findings into awareness and action.
Microplastics: A Macro-Disaster has since become a bridging story showing how large charismatic species can help communicate the urgency of plastic pollution and its deeper ecological consequences.
Jelly-like Creatures, Microplastics & the Carbon Pump
The question: What if microplastics interfere with the ocean’s ability to store carbon?
Gelatinous zooplankton like salps play key roles in the biological carbon pump moving carbon from the surface down to the deep ocean. My work investigated how ingestion of microplastics by these organisms could disrupt that process, with implications for how resilient our climate system truly is.
Media coverage highlights:
- Irish Times – Plastic eaten by plankton may impair ocean’s ability to trap CO₂
- The Times (UK) – Microplastics in ocean disrupt natural carbon storage
- Silicon Republic – Salps, microplastics & CO₂ absorption
- Irish Independent – Microplastics in faeces of jelly-like animals could affect CO₂ in atmosphere
- RTE Radio 1 – Morning Ireland interview
Read the full article – Environmental Science and Technology
Deep-Sea Fish & Hidden Plastic Threats
The question: Are deep-sea fish far from pollution sources ingesting microplastics too?
Our research revealed that over 70% of deep-sea fish sampled in the Northwest Atlantic had microplastics in their guts. For animals that live in remote, deep environments, that finding was both alarming and eye-opening.
Global media coverage included:
- BBC – Worrying effect of microplastic on deep-sea fish report finds
- USA Today – Ocean pollution: Plastic found in 73% of deepwater fish, North Atlantic
- The Times – Even deepwater fish are not safe from toxic microplastics
- Irish Times – Over 70% of deep-sea fish have ingested plastic, study finds
- Sky News – Worrying effect of microplastic on deep-sea fish report finds
- ScienceDaily – Worrying effect of microplastic on deep-sea fish report finds
- Irish Examiner – Microplastics found in deep-water fish
- Irish Independent – Over 70% of deep-sea fish have ingested plastic, study finds
- EurekAlert – Study finds microplastic contamination in deep-sea fish
- NewsDeeply – Seals: Large percentage of deep-sea fish contaminated by microplastics
- Europa Press (ES) – High levels of microplastics in deep-water fish
- iNews UK – Plastic found in three-quarters of deep-ocean fish
Read the full article – Frontiers in Marine Science
Let’s Talk Science
If you’re a journalist, educator, organization, or simply someone curious about microplastic pollution, marine ecosystems, or science outreach — I’d love to hear from you. I’m always open to collaborations, guest talks, and new storytelling partnerships that help connect science with society.
I also occasionally provide expert commentary for newspapers and journals, helping place new research into a wider environmental context — such as in this National Geographic feature on microplastic pollution in the Mariana Trench, the deepest point on Earth.
Alina Madita Wieczorek 