The work of David Talens, from the Food Biotechnology Department of the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA), has received the FOTCIENCIA17 award in the Food and Nutrition category.
Title: 'Líneas de alarma' (Alarm Lines)
Author: David Talens Perales
The photograph, taken under fluorescent light, shows the courtship of two marine crustaceans of the genus Artemia. The most striking feature of the image is the orange illumination of the digestive tracts, produced by plastic microparticles. These crustaceans are the basis of food for many marine species in aquaculture and are used as model organisms in environmental studies. Like them, most of the plankton ingested by fish is contaminated with microplastics, which are transferred in the food chain until they reach the final consumers: humans. We do not know what the long-term effect is, but they do reach us as environmental pollutants.
In this competition, organised by the CSIC and the FECYT, it awards different prizes in various categories: general, micro, sustainable agriculture, food and nutrition and science in the classroom. And every year it publishes a catalogue with all the selected photos, in addition to the award-winning ones.
For the third consecutive year the photograph of the IATA researcher will appear in the catalogue. In previous editions he participated with his photographs Vida en condiciones extremas and Petit Bouquet.