Abstract:

The term “microplastic” was first used in 2004 by Thompson et al., referring to any plastic particle with a size below 5 mm (largest dimension). Nowadays, microplastics generation and dumping prevention is one of the biggest problems that humans have to enforce in the next years. Previous studies demonstrate the presence of microplastics in all environmental compartments (water, soil, air and biota) and also their negative effects on living organisms.
In Spanish universities, each master’s degree student, must develop a Final Master’s Degree Project (FMDP), which consists of an autonomous work carried out in the last semester of the last year of the Master. The FMDP, could be a bibliographic research or an experimental work which should be written and presented in a public defense. In the defense, students must demonstrate the competences acquired and the skills developed during the teaching-learning process.
In this communication, we propose an interesting and easy experimental work related with the determination of microplastics in Holothuria sanctori sea cucumber, a deposit-feeder echinoderm that daily intakes high amounts of sediments and that has the ability to discharge the Cuvierian tubules as a defense system when they are at risk. Students must analyze, quantify and determine the content of microplastics within the gastrointestinal tract and Cuverian tubules following a multidisciplinary approach. This work could be suitable for the FMDP of Marine Sciences students, but also for the degrees of Biology, Environmental Science or Coastal Management, among others. In this proposal, we intend that students realize how to apply the knowledge acquired during their degrees and develop their ability to solve problems in new or little-known environments contexts related to their area of study. In this experimental work, students have developed field sampling, sample treatment, statistical analysis, etc. during which they have also increased their environmental awareness about plastic pollution.

Keywords:

Microplastics, Final Master’s Degree Project, sea cucumber, marine pollution, sediments.