Jessica Savage

Biodiversity and Ecology

RHUL

IOZ

Zoological Society of London (ZSL)

Professor Heather Koldewey

Marcus Rowcliffe (IOZ),

Plastic is ubiquitous in the environment and is known to have major negative impacts on marine ecosystems. Marine organisms can entangle in discarded fishing gear, ingest plastic debris, and accumulate leached toxic chemicals in their systems, which can affect their development and physiology. Reef manta rays are large charismatic filter-feeders, that are exposed to those risks, due to their low trophic level and their habitat overlap with plastic pollution. They could therefore act as indicators of the sea health. This project will use plastic bottles collected on beaches to examine the sources of plastic pollution in the Central Indian Ocean, focussing on the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), a near-pristine remote island. It will then investigate the reef manta ray’s risk of entanglement in discarded fishing gear and microplastic ingestion. It will explore the presence of leached toxic plastic additives in reef manta ray tissues and their feeding grounds, with a focus on the method used in ecotoxicology studies. We hope this project will allow us to assess the current plastic pollution management solutions in the Central Indian Ocean and inform potential mitigation policies and initiatives.

We hope the information on the brands and countries of origin will inform plastic reduction conversations, and inform on where to invest in alternative solutions.
Furthermore, we hope that highlighting the risks that plastic pollution poses to reef manta rays will help inform communities who depend on them for tourism how to adapt and mitigate those risks in the future.

The Manta Trust (The Manta Trust) website: https://www.mantatrust.org/
Marine Megafauna Foundation (Marine Megafauna Foundation) website: https://marinemegafauna.org/

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Project stopmotion Video. Contributors: Sasha Bradshaw, Emma Deeks, Eugenie Yen, Laura Hemmingham, Lucy Mead, Jessica SavageMeet the Students – Cohort 7 Video. Contributors: Sasha Bradshaw, Emma Deeks, Eugenie Yen, Laura Hemmingham, Lucy Mead, Jessica Savage