Elizabeth May Chair in Environmental Health and Sustainability Candidate Research Talk: Dr. Ludovic Hermabessiere
Dr. Ludovic Hermabessiere *new time
Research Associate
National Research Council of Canada
Aquatic and Crop Resource Development Research Centre
Title: Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems: Advancing Methods for Detection and Understanding their Fate and Effects
Abstract: Today, there is no doubt that plastic pollution is an environmental problem. Since the 1950s plastic production has been increasing exponentially and the characteristics, i.e durability, low cost and flexibility, that make this material so useful are also partially to blame for its ubiquity in our environment. Small plastic particles called microplastics, defined as smaller than 5 mm, are now found in every ecosystem across the globe and even smaller plastic particles called nanoplastics, smaller than 1 µm, have been recently reported in some environmental compartments. As a consequence, there is growing concern and a desire to increase our understanding relevant to the fate of plastic particles in the environment and their effects on organisms, communities and ecosystems.
Throughout my research career, which I plan to continue into the future, I have pursued research to increase our understanding of the fate and effects of plastic on aquatic ecosystems. My research aims to better characterize micro and nanoplastics in environmental samples to inform hypotheses regarding exposure and fate, and to use these methods to measure environmental exposure, fate and transport. Relevant to this work, I also aim to understand the effects of these small plastic particles and their associated chemicals on aquatic ecosystems by studying the response in organisms.
During this research seminar, I will present some of my past research, focusing on (1) the development of methods to quantify and characterize microplastics in environmental samples, especially using Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, (2) understanding the fate of microplastics in individual organisms and food webs and, (3) understanding the mechanisms of microplastic toxicity using experiments at different scale, especially focused on chemical versus physical effects. My presentation will also introduce the research ideas I want to bring as a new faculty member at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Dalhousie University.
Bio: Ludovic Hermabessiere obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biology of Organisms and Populations in 2013 and his Master of Science in Biology of Marine Organisms in 2015, both at the University of Bretagne Occidentale, France. During his master’s Ludovic worked with Dr Philippe Soudant to understand the impact of freshwater inflow on the food resources of the American oyster, Crassostrea virgnica in Florida using lipid and stable isotope markers.
Ludovic Hermabessiere obtained his PhD in 2018 from the University of Littoral Côte d’Opale, France. During his PhD he conducted work at the French agency for food safety under the supervision of Dr Guillaume Duflos and Dr Philippe Soudant. His PhD focused on developing methods to extract and identify microplastic from seafood products to understand the risks microplastic could pose to humans through their seafood consumption. He also studied the leaching of plastic additives in different gastric conditions in vitro.
As a postdoctoral fellow from May 2019 to April 2023 at the University of Toronto, Ludovic worked with Dr Chelsea Rochman. During that time his research aimed to develop new methods to quantify microplastics in environmental samples using Pyrolysis-GC/MS. He also worked to understand the role of plastic additives in microplastic toxicity by using both laboratory and mesocosms experiments. Ludovic is an active member of the pELAstic project that aims to understand the fate and effects of microplastics in a freshwater ecosystem by performing mesocosms and full lake experiments at the IISD-Experimental Lake Area in Northwestern Ontario.
Since May 2023, as a research associate at the National Research Council Canada, Ludovic is continuing his work on the fate and effect of microplastics and is also starting to study nanoplastics. He uses larvae and adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) to study the effects of microplastics and nanoplastics. Additionally, Ludovic is developing methods for the characterization and quantification of nanoplastics in environmental samples.
Overall, Dr Hermabessiere research interests focus on developing state of the art techniques for quantification of both micro and nanoplastics in the environment while also working to understand the fate and effects of those plastic particles in the environment by doing laboratory and field experiments.
Personal website: https://ludovichermabessiere.wordpress.com/
Google scholar profile: https://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=zlXIDnkAAAAJ&hl=fr
Time
Location
Milligan Room, 8th Floor Biology-Earth Sciences Wing, Life Sciences Centre, Dalhousie University