Émilie Montreuil Strub

Microplastics are one the most abundant forms of aquatic pollution in the world today, with studies indicating that every level of the food web interacts with this manmade contaminant. My research focuses on how freshwater invertebrates are affected by microplastics and how they, in turn, may affect microplastics in the environment. I conduct in-lab ecotoxicological studies with Planorbella pilsbryi, the ramshorn snail, and larval Chironomus dilutus, the non-biting midge.

I am also part of a much larger team studying microplastics at the IISD-Experimental Lakes Area. My research project is one of many contributing to The pELAstics Project, which as a whole studies microplastic fate and effects on an entire ecosystem.

The goal of my work is to inform development of microplastics sub-indicators under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and other risk assessment frameworks for freshwater ecosystems.