NIB

Acronim PlastOrgAnoTox

• Project Coordinator for Croatia: Dr. Vlatka Filipović Marijić, Ruđer Bošković Institute
• Project Coordinator for Slovenia: Dr. Andreja Ramšak, National Institute of Biology

Participating organizations in Slovenia:

• NIB https://www.nib.si/ 
• University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty https://www.bf.uni-lj.si/sl/enote/biologija/ 
• Jožef Štefan Institute https://f2.ijs.si/sl 
• Water Institute of the Republic of Slovenia https://www.izvrs.si/

The project, in collaboration with Croatian partners, encompasses the Krka river system and the coastal sea to assess the occurrence of microplastics in water, sediment, and wild and farmed species (Salmo trutta, Sparus aurata) and mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) exposed to anthropogenic pressures. The project includes the analysis of microplastics and metals in freshwater, in the marine environment and in biota. The project is multidisciplinary and will provide knowledge on i.) the characterisation of MP in freshwater and marine ecosystems under different anthropogenic pressures; ii.) biological changes and fate of environmental microplastics in freshwater and marine organisms; iii.) controlled experiments will distinguish biological changes due to microplastics or in combination with environmental metal contaminants at the cellular and organismal level; iv.) novel biomarkers and environmental risk assessment based on data on the occurrence of microplastics and their properties in freshwater and marine environments.

Data on mechanisms of action and data on the occurrence and complexity of microplastics in freshwater and marine environments will contribute to the discovery of novel biomarkers and environmental risk assessment. We will investigate potential changes or improvements needed to address the specific challenges posed by microplastics, such as persistence, ubiquity and potential for bioaccumulation in organisms throughout the food web. Our aim is to contribute to the development of a comprehensive framework that takes into account the complex interactions between microplastics and the environment and enables robust risk assessments and informed decisions to effectively mitigate their impacts.

This is a joint Croatian-Slovenian project from the Weave scheme.

 

Slovenian partners received funding from ARIS
Project number: N-0406
Duration: 1.3.2025 to 29.2.2028

Croatian partner is funded by the Croatian Science Foundation https://hrzz.hr/ 

 

Project number: IP-2024-05-8918
Duration: 20. 12. 2024 to 19.12. 2027

 

Contacts

Dr. Andreja Ramšak andreja.ramsak@nib.si  
National Institute of Biology
Večna pot 121
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia

The project is coordinated by Dr. Andreja Ramšak (Slovenian part) and Dr. Vlatka Filipović Marijić (Croatian part). Slovenian project partners are: NIB coordinator, University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Biology, Jože Štefan Institute, Institute for Waters of the Republic of Slovenia.

 

The project is financed from the Weave scheme, the Slovenian part is financed by ARIS and the Croatian part of the project is financed by the HRZZ.

Links: 

• Kick-off meeting