The Museum of Southwestern Biology collaborates with the UNM College of Pharmacy to conduct studies on micro/nanoplastics (MNP) in various mammal populations. Museum specimens are a critical resource for expanding the field of environmental toxicology. Recent studies have tested MNP bioaccumulation in Channel Island Foxes from California and kangaroo rats from New Mexico. Museum specimens have been collected across a large range of time and across expansive geographic areas. This breadth of sampling allows scientists to investigate how MNP contamination has changed over time and identify locations where it is most pervasive. MNP bioaccumulation has been found to have detrimental health effects in humans, so being able to monitor MNPs within animal populations will help us understand how this novel environmental threat is impacting global biodiversity and population health.

Microplastic bioaccumulation in brain tissue of an island endemic mammal of conservation concern, the San Nicolas Island Fox (Urocyon littoralis dickeyi)

Microplastic bioaccumulation in an island endemic mammal of conservation concern, the San Nicolas Island Fox (Urocyon littoralis dickeyi)