Institute: South Carolina
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $34,419 Total Non-Federal Funds: $35,554
Principal Investigators: James Anderson
Project Summary: Small plastic particles (microplastics) and associated forever contaminants (perfluorinated and polyfluorinated substances) pollute water. Alligators eat microplastics or prey items containing microplastics; the microplastics and chemicals bound to those plastics contaminate the alligators. We are studying forever chemicals and microplastics in alligators along coastal South Carolina waters to evaluate their potential as indicator species for these contaminants.