A Hidden Danger in our Waters: Understanding Microplastics and its effects on Human and Ecological Health

The world, for better or for worse, is a constantly changing place. Most notably the effects humans are having on the environment, defined as the anthropogenic change crisis, is something scientists and researchers are trying to understand better so that they may find better solutions. Some of that work starts right in the waterways around Ursinus College.

Emily Lybashev, a biology major on a pre-med track, has spent her summer studying microplastics and their effects on the environment under the direction of Assistant Professor of Biology Colleen Bove as a part of Ursinus’s Summer Fellows program.

Plastic is a type of material that never fully degrades and breaks down into smaller particles called microplastics. The smaller particles are more easily able to get into things such as waterways or even our bodily systems without being able to be filtered out. This issue becomes more prevalent in the summertime because plastic degrades more easily in the heat.

Microplastics also provide a breeding ground for bacteria that can be dangerous to human and ecological health. Microcystin, methylmercury, and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria occupy our waterways around the world, affecting many different aspects of our health. These dangerous bacteria and toxins highlight the need for research done on microplastics such as Lybashev’s.

The Langhorne, Pa., native’s work has mostly occurred in the Perkiomen Creek, which is located near Ursinus. Lybashev collects samples from the waterways and filters out the sediment in the lab, revealing the microplastics within the sample. From there, she can look at the sample through a microscope and use chemical analysis to identify the microplastic type.

So far, Lybashev has found polyethylene in the Perkiomen, which is the most common type of microplastic. She plans to continue this research in the fall by testing the effects of microplastics on organisms in the creek, most specifically crayfish, which are an invasive species in the waterway.

“Hopefully we can take the findings of the effects on crayfish and translate it to human health because we are only beginning to understand the effects of microplastics on humans,” explained Lybashev.

The Summer Fellows program also gave Lybashev the opportunity to collaborate with PhD student Alex Korbobo and Assistant Professor John Paul Balmonte from Lehigh University on a project funded by a Pennsylvania Sea Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The grant itself was awarded to both Bove and Balmonte’s labs. Through the grant, she collected samples at five sites, including Center City, Philadelphia, and Conshohocken. Lybashev will go to Lehigh at the conclusion of the summer for two weeks to continue her participation in the program.

For Lybashev, the inspiration to do research such as this came from her father, who was a sailor in Soviet Russia.

“He instilled a love of marine life and marine ecosystems for me from a very young age,” she said.

The idea to participate in Summer Fellows came after Bove gave a presentation in her class on climate change and microplastics, which sparked Lybashev’s interest.

“I’m so thankful she gave me the opportunity to work in her lab,” Lybashev said.

A commuter student, Emily loves the environment Ursinus has provided over the summer to do her research. Research was always an interest for her, but the jam-packed schedule that a school year provides does not always allow for that opportunity. She said Summer Fellows has given her the chance to pursue her passion and get research experience in preparation for a possible future career in health care.

“If you love it and have a passion for it, it’s such a great experience,” she said.