Marine Debris Talk

Dorothy Horn with research subject.

The Lower Nehalem Watershed Council invites the public to join them for a talk on “Marine Debris and Microplastics in Our Watersheds” on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. in the Pine Grove Community House (225 Laneda Ave.) in Manzanita.  The event is free.

The speaker is Dorothy Horn, a PhD candidate at Portland State University who is studying marine debris, and in particular the impact of “microplastics,” very small plastic bits in the environment that can work their way up the food chain. She will discuss the effects of microplastics on some invertebrates in Oregon.  Horn is doing research on the impacts of microplastics on Pacific Mole Crabs, Surf Perch and other nearshore invertebrates along the Oregon coast, Hawaii and Costa Rica. She has spoken to CoastWatch audiences on this topic several times in the past.

Horn is a Marine Corps veteran and a Graduate Research Fellow for the National Science Foundation.  She received her B.S. in Environmental Science and Resource Management at California State University Channel Islands, where she began her studies of microplastics.  She is now a PhD student at Portland State University in the Environmental Science and Management program where students, researchers and faculty work with non-profit organizations, as well as local, state and federal partners, to conduct important research and find collaborative solutions with science and policy. 

A meeting of the Lower Nehalem Watershed Council precedes the talk, at 5 p.m. in the same location.

For more information, lnwc@nehalemtel.net, (503) 368-7424.