Department of Biology

Austin Gray won First Place at the 37th SETAC North America Meeting in Orlando

Posted on February 9, 2017

The work that Austin presented which was part of his masters was titled The Uptake and Retention of Microplastic Particles by Adult Daggerblade Grass Shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio.  The study assessed whether grass shrimp uptake microplastic particles of various shapes and sizes into their gut as well as gill appendages. He then assessed whether the uptake of these particles had any adverse effects on the shrimp such as mortality. He also looked at the residence time that the plastics remained in the gills and gut of the grass shrimp.

He presented a platform presentation at the 37th SETAC North America Meeting in Orlando. This meeting also served as the 7th SETAC World Congress Meeting. World Congress meetings are held every few years and host SETAC members from all geographical units (North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia, Asia-Pacific and Africa).There were more than 250 student presentations representing undergraduate, masters and doctorate level students. He was awarded 1st place for Best Masters Student Platform Presentation.