Associations between microplastic pollution and land use in urban wetland sediments.

Microplastic pollution is concerning because it is widespread in aquatic environments and there is growing evidence of negative biological effects. Here, we present one of the first studies to examine microplastic pollution (plastic particles < 1 mm) in urban wetlands and investigate relationships between contamination and urban land use. Sediment samples were collected from 20 independent urban wetlands, each with different types of urban land use within their catchments.

Detecting long-term temporal trends in sediment-bound trace metals from urbanised catchments.

The shift from rural lifestyles to urban living has dramatically altered the way humans interact and live across the globe. With over 50% of the world's populations living within cities, and significant increases expected over the next 50 years, it is critical that changes to social, economic and environmental sustainability of cities globally be implicit. Protecting and enhancing aquatic ecosystems, which provide important ecosystem services, is challenging.

Effects of sediment quality on macroinvertebrates in the Sunraysia region of the Murray-Darling Rivers, Australia.

A field-based microcosm approach was tested to identify deterioration of sediment quality in waterways using freshwater macroinvertebrates. The method can potentially identify the nature of contaminants based on species-specific responses. Sediments were collected from the Murray and Darling Rivers and irrigation drains within the Sunraysia region of south-eastern Australia and compared to non-polluted reference sediment.