Microplastics in the Beaufort Sea beluga food web

Microplastics (plastic particles < 5 mm) in the world's oceans are increasingly seen as a threat to sealife, having been observed in industrialized coastal waters as well as remote environments such as the Arctic. The primary purpose of this study is to conduct an assessment of microplastics in the southern Beaufort Sea beluga whale food web by using newly-developed techniques to extract, enumerate and analyze microplastics from samples of beluga stomachs and gut contents, as well as beluga prey stomachs and gut contents. This will provide an initial basis for tracking source, transport, fate and effects of this emerging contaminant class in Canada's North.