Please bring a friend and join us for the next Olympia Science Café.

When:     7:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Where:    Orca Books      509 East 4th Avenue, Olympia      Phone 360.352.0123

Our December topic is Plastic: It’s what’s for breakfast

The issue of plastic debris in the oceans is of growing concern globally, with plastic accumulating in marine habitats from the equators to the poles and from coastlines to the middle of ocean basins.  Although patterns of plastic ingestion by marine wildlife such as sea turtles, marine mammals and seabirds are increasingly well documented, the consequences of ingestion remain poorly understood.  The pervasiveness of marine plastics, especially micro-plastics, throughout marine food webs is also unknown.  In this talk, Peter Hodum will discuss the magnitude of the marine plastic pollution issue, the impacts of plastic debris on marine wildlife, and the use of biological indicators, ranging from seabirds to mussels, to better understand the impacts of plastics on marine ecosystems.  He will also talk about the challenges and opportunities of dealing with this global environmental issue.

Peter Hodum, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Puget Sound.