Sea Water is a source for marine life, which is more than few folds the number of human population. The pollution that we all encounter eff...
Sea Water is a source for marine life, which is more than few folds the number of human population. The pollution that we all encounter effects animals big and small. A new form of plastic pollution is seen engulfing the marine lives named as the Microplastics. These were found to be in micro-sized, and our fish have eaten them. They, in turn, are turning up in our plates and we can not pick them out with our forks.
In a study conducted by researchers from the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) in the U.K, where almost every mammal that was examined had these microplastics and microfibres in them. About 50 varieties of animals were examined, in them, 10 species were of dolphins, seals and whales.
The microplastic pollution in their bodies mostly consisted of Synthetic fibres. 84% sourced from clothes, fishing nets and toothbrushes. A minority of them were from food packaging and plastic bottles. Visibly trapping them and internally affecting them, these plastic pollutants are posing as a serious threat.
In a study conducted by researchers from the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) in the U.K, where almost every mammal that was examined had these microplastics and microfibres in them. About 50 varieties of animals were examined, in them, 10 species were of dolphins, seals and whales.
The microplastic pollution in their bodies mostly consisted of Synthetic fibres. 84% sourced from clothes, fishing nets and toothbrushes. A minority of them were from food packaging and plastic bottles. Visibly trapping them and internally affecting them, these plastic pollutants are posing as a serious threat.
A Researcher named Sarah Nelms had this to say about the findings. " It's shocking, but not surprising that every animal had ingested microplastics. The number of particles in each animal was relatively low (average of 5.5 particles per animal), suggesting they eventually pass through the digestive system, or are regurgitated".
Talking about the significance of these findings another researcher Mr Godley says, " We are at the very early stages of understanding this ubiquitous pollutant. We now have a benchmark that future studies can be compared with. Marine mammals are ideal sentinels of our impacts on the marine environment, as they are generally live long and many feeds high up in the food chain. Our findings are not good news".
"It is disconcerting that we have found microplastic in the gut of every single animal we have investigated in this study"
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