Microplastics = Macroproblem
Two classifications of microplastics exist: primary microplastics are intentionally manufactured to be micro-sized and are a direct result of human material and product use, the best example being the microbeads found in toothpaste and facial scrubs, and secondary microplastics are plastic fragments derived from the breakdown of larger plastic debris. This could be a fragment from a water bottle or a fiber from your shirt.
As mentioned previously, media and research tend to be focused on larger plastic items. It's no secret that our mega fauna suffer greatly due to our consumerism with entanglement, ingestion, or suffocation as a result of our need for convenience. In contrast, microplastics do not appear nearly as menacing, being all micro-sized and innocent looking... but it must be considered that these particles are available to a much wider range of species from fish, to birds, to plankton, and to you; a good Samaritan that didn't ask for this!
It has been seen in various studies that marine organisms are both directly and indirectly consuming these microplastics. Zooplankton, as a tiny example, consume microplastics because they emit similar infochemicals, specifically dimethyl sulfide, as phytoplankton and other organic materials, which would be their natural food source. Plastics such as polyethylene (both high and low densities) as well as polypropylene produce dimethyl sulfide odors. These types of plastics are commonly found in your every day household items. Go ahead and find the nearest plastic thing. What number does it say in that recycle emblem that we all definitely pay attention to?
One of the ever growing list of angles I'm pursing here in Bocas del Toro is to assess the chemical composition of these microplastics at a time series after being deployed into the ocean. Currently as I type this I have plastics 1-6 floating peacefully in the sea, nonchalantly absorbing contaminants and leeching their own slurry associated chemicals, and I'd like to see which types of plastic associate with what types of chemicals, as that can have implications in the food web, especially if these chemicals bio-accumulate up the food web (with us at the very top!)
As fish is the primary source of protein for nearly one-fifth of the human population, and with more than a quarter of our fish now contaminated by microplastics (according the the 2016 UNEP Report), it is important to consider that the microplastics ingested by fish crustaceans, and can be subsequently consumed by humans as the highest trophic level. It remains unclear how much of an impact the chemicals associated with these microplastics has directly on the health of humans, but the research continues!
As mentioned previously, media and research tend to be focused on larger plastic items. It's no secret that our mega fauna suffer greatly due to our consumerism with entanglement, ingestion, or suffocation as a result of our need for convenience. In contrast, microplastics do not appear nearly as menacing, being all micro-sized and innocent looking... but it must be considered that these particles are available to a much wider range of species from fish, to birds, to plankton, and to you; a good Samaritan that didn't ask for this!
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| Plastic ingestion by marine zooplankton |
It has been seen in various studies that marine organisms are both directly and indirectly consuming these microplastics. Zooplankton, as a tiny example, consume microplastics because they emit similar infochemicals, specifically dimethyl sulfide, as phytoplankton and other organic materials, which would be their natural food source. Plastics such as polyethylene (both high and low densities) as well as polypropylene produce dimethyl sulfide odors. These types of plastics are commonly found in your every day household items. Go ahead and find the nearest plastic thing. What number does it say in that recycle emblem that we all definitely pay attention to?
One of the ever growing list of angles I'm pursing here in Bocas del Toro is to assess the chemical composition of these microplastics at a time series after being deployed into the ocean. Currently as I type this I have plastics 1-6 floating peacefully in the sea, nonchalantly absorbing contaminants and leeching their own slurry associated chemicals, and I'd like to see which types of plastic associate with what types of chemicals, as that can have implications in the food web, especially if these chemicals bio-accumulate up the food web (with us at the very top!)
As fish is the primary source of protein for nearly one-fifth of the human population, and with more than a quarter of our fish now contaminated by microplastics (according the the 2016 UNEP Report), it is important to consider that the microplastics ingested by fish crustaceans, and can be subsequently consumed by humans as the highest trophic level. It remains unclear how much of an impact the chemicals associated with these microplastics has directly on the health of humans, but the research continues!
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