Brynne Radford, Bachelor of Science ’23, has always had a passion for hands-on learning with marine animals. While studying at MacEwan, that passion led to her ongoing research into the presence of microplastics in the stomachs of ringed seals.

Originally brought into the project by her freshwater ecology prof Dr. David Locky, she has been working primarily with Dr. Matthew Ross on research that began around three years ago. She joined fellow student Haylee Hatton, who had already been involved with Dr. Ross’ work, and the trio has worked closely together since.

The ringed seal stomachs were provided by Environment Canada, who sourced them from hunters and trappers in northern communities who catch the seals for their livelihoods. The stomach contents were removed and Radford analyzed them under a microscope, looking for anything that might be considered microplastic.

The microplastics she found ranged in size from under 53 micrometers to one millimeter. From there, she collected the microplastics in a Petri dish and scanned them through a spectrometer in order to properly identify their composition. 

The study is ongoing, but so far, their results have shown lower levels of microplastics than they were initially expecting.

"Our preliminary results show small amounts of microplastics within the stomach extracts of ringed seals. We are in the progress of determining its significance compared to other large aquatic mammals," says Radford.

The data, she says, will provide a baseline for future researchers identifying changes to the seals’ amount of microplastics in northern environments. The team is currently compiling their results into a paper that they’re hoping to publish later this summer, and eventually hopes to expand the research to other animals.

Radford presented the project with a poster at last year’s Student Research Day. “Everybody was so excited and interested in the research,” she says. “It was an awesome networking experience, and Dr. Ross was so supportive.”

Since graduating from MacEwan last year, Radford has continued to explore ways of learning about marine animal behaviour. She is currently a sea lion trainer assistant, and says that this research project helped her to decide on the next step in her career.

“I always thought I would go and get a master's degree, so I'm really grateful for the opportunity to do this study. I got to see what my future could potentially look like.”