Enid Munoz Ruiz, a native of Aguada, Puerto Rico, recently defended her thesis, “Assessment of Microplastics in Placopecten magellanicus.” Munoz Ruiz completed a master’s degree in toxicology with a concentration in aquatics from UMES.
“Microplastics are plastic fragments, pellets, fibers and cosmetic beads less than 5 mm in size,” Munoz Ruiz said. “In recent years, these emerging contaminants have been found in tap water samples all over the world and in a vast array of aquatic organisms with the possibility of toxic effects in them. The objective of my research was to test if the important ecological species Atlantic Sea Scallops, Placopecten magellanicus, were contaminated with microplastics.”
Munoz Ruiz volunteered onboard the vessel Hugh R. Sharp during the 2018 Scallop Survey Cruise conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Over 200 scallops were dredged in George’s Bank and the Mid-Atlantic Bight for samples, she said. The scallops were then dissected to collect the gills, digestive tracts and muscle in order to determine bivalve plastic uptake. Micropolymer assays were conducted through chemical digestion and visual quantification of microplastics.
“All microplastics found were fibers and not fragments from larger plastics. There were no significant correlations or differences in microplastic concentrations among scallop tissues and sex regardless of the region,” she said. “On the other hand, larger scallops contained higher amounts of microplastics, because they have more surface area for the microplastic to adsorb onto.”
“Since sea scallops are important commercial organisms with fisheries dredging over 50 million pounds annually for seafood consumption, this research directly contributes to NOAA’s goal to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources,” Munoz Ruiz said. “It provides the scientific foundation for understanding further research on the toxicity microplastics can have on important ecological commercial species.”
While at UMES, Munoz Ruiz worked as a graduate assistant funded by the NOAA Educational Partnership Program under the auspices of the Living Marine Resources and Cooperative Science Center. She was also an active member of the UMES subunit of the American Fisheries Society and served as its treasurer this past year. She completed a six-month NOAA Experiential Research & Training Opportunities internship at the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Her research advisor was Dr. Ali Ishaque, an associate professor in UMES’ Department of Natural Sciences.
Munoz Ruiz holds a bachelor’s in chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. Once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, she plans to work as a community outreach coordinator.
