Investigating microplastic occurrences in coastal surface seawaters and their potential role as transport vectors for multidrug-resistant E. coli

The pervasive nature of microplastics (synthetic items of less than 5 mm) throughout aquatic environments has been found to impart upon these habitats a myriad of negative effects. The work described in this thesis aims to address the existing need for comparable, long-term data on MP occurrences in aquatic systems as well as to investigate their role as transport vectors for multidrug-resistant E. coli.