Publications by authors named "Michelle S Hale"

Article Synopsis
  • Microplastic pollution is a significant environmental issue, particularly regarding its ingestion by marine life; however, much of the research relies on pristine microbeads that don’t accurately represent reality.
  • This study compares the ingestion and effects of both virgin microplastics and E. coli-coated microplastics by European native oysters, finding that oysters took in more of the coated microplastics.
  • Although the study showed minimal retention of microplastics in oysters, the potential transfer of pathogens from these microplastics to higher trophic levels raises concerns about wildlife health and food safety for humans.
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Organotins present a toxicological risk to biota in the aquatic environment. Understanding the behaviour of these compounds in sediment is challenging, with sophisticated analytical techniques required for their measurement. We investigated the use of silica-bound sorbents for diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) adsorption gels to pre-concentrate five organotins (monobutlytin (MBT), dibutyltin (DBT), tributyltin (TBT), diphenyltin (DPhT), triphenyltin (TPhT)) found frequently in coastal sediment.

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As the human population increases there is an increasing reliance on aquaculture to supply a safe, reliable, and economic supply of food. Although food production is essential for a healthy population, an increasing threat to global human health is antimicrobial resistance. Extensive antibiotic resistant strains are now being detected; the spread of these strains could greatly reduce medical treatment options available and increase deaths from previously curable infections.

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Thingstad et al. (Reports, 12 August 2005, p. 1068) reported that in situ mesoscale phosphorus enrichment of the eastern Mediterranean Sea altered selected biological parameters and concluded that the added phosphorus was rapidly transferred from bacteria to mesozooplankton.

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