Running head: THE EFFECTS OF PLASTIC POLLUTION ON MARINE HABITAT 1

The Effects of Plastic Pollution on Marine Habitat

Mikaelia Robinson

Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi

29 October 2019
THE EFFECTS OF PLASTIC POLLUTION ON MARINE HABITAT 2

Abstract

Microplastics are a growing inconvenience to marine habitat. They enter the ocean through rivers

and ocean currents from poor waste management and plastics that ends up in drains. These

microplastics are hazardous to marine life as they produce toxic chemicals that changes the

immunity of marine life and make them vulnerable to pathogens. Microplastics are often

mistaken for food and ingested and larger plastics causes entanglement and strangulation of

marine life. The growing abundance of macroplastics poses a threat not only to marine life but

also to humans whom are ingesting sea food. Countries have started legislative laws to address

the concerns posed by marine pollution in hopes of decreasing the use of microplastics as part of

an effort to slowly ban their usage. This review analyzes the effects of plastic pollution on

marine life and the mitigations efforts of countries to reduce the presence of microplastics in the

ocean.
THE EFFECTS OF PLASTIC POLLUTION ON MARINE HABITAT 2

The Effects of Plastic Pollution on Marine Habitat

Plastic pollution has played a vital role in the depletion and death of many marine

habitats and marine life. The abundance of plastic pollution is caused by human activities and the

poor waste management of human created products. These pollutants affect all susceptible areas

of the sea including but not limited to fish, coral reefs and vegetated habitats (Martínez-Gómez,

& Vethaak, 2019). Plastics enter the ocean in many various ways, and this sometimes depends on

the type of plastic. Of all plastics produced, 79% are due to landfills and are present as debris in

the environment (De Frond et al., 2018). The physical components of plastics are not the only

factors that harm the marine, but the toxicity level of the plastics pose a much greater risk.

Chemicals change the natural biology of marine life which lowers their immune system and

make them more vulnerable to pathogens (Martínez-Gómez, & Vethaak, 2019). Furthermore,

chemical changes in the water of marine life may be hard to detect due to various other stressors

such as fishing practices and climate change (Martínez-Gómez, & Vethaak, 2019). Not only is

life living in the ocean being affected but seabirds that glide the surface of the water and ingest

sea creatures are being harmed by microplastics that settle at the top of water (O'Hanlon et al.,

2017). The effects of plastic pollution on marine life causes an indirect threat to other areas of

the environment and humans. The ingestion of plastics by marine life can affects humans if

consumed and the toxins from plastics may cause adverse reactions in humans (Martínez-

Gómez, & Vethaak, 2019).

Types of Plastics and their Effects

The extent of how dangerous plastics are goes beyond just the fact of it being a non-

biodegradable substance floating around in the water. The type, size, and toxicity of the plastics

cause a true danger to the marine population and it gradually increases each year. The
THE EFFECTS OF PLASTIC POLLUTION ON MARINE HABITAT 2

accumulation of plastic debris in the ocean threatens the survival and well-being of marine life

through the ingestion, entanglement, and smothering of these species (De Frond et al., 2018).

Plastic use over the years have increased rapidly due to its abundance and in expense. Due to

this, more items are being made with plastic and the rate at which it increases outweighs that of

its disposal and proper waste management (Clark et al., 2016). Plastic has reportedly been a

cause of concern in oceanic environment for many years but has only been recently highlighted

as a global problem (Xanthos & Walker, 2017). Studies of the entanglement of species show

shows that Antarctic fur seals are commonly entangled in marine debris and birds and turtles die

each year due to the ingestion of plastics (Xanthos & Walker, 2017; O'Hanlon et al., 2017).

Marine plastic pollution is a combination of macroplastics and microplastics which have

different ways of transport into the ocean (Schnurr et al., 2018). Macroplastics are very small

pieces of plastic fragments that enter oceanic environments through rivers, poor waste

management, dumping, and the destruction of marine habitats. Microplastics include both

microbeads and small fragments of macroplastics such as plastic bottles that atop waters, scatter

the bottom of the ocean and litter the ocean shores (Schnurr et al., 2018). Microplastics pose a

greater threat to organisms because they are smaller and easier to ingest. Marine life such as

planktons and filter-feeding bivalves often mistake microbeads floating in the water as food

which is harmful to them (Xanthos & Walker, 2017).

The way to reducing the impacts of microplastics is to find the source identification

which can be primary or secondary, manufactured in small size or a fragment of a larger object,

respectively (Rezania et al., 2018). Primary macroplastics originate form debris during plastic

production or recycling and micro-cleansing particles in personal care products while secondary

microplastics originate from broken fragments of larger plastic pieces, including, marine litter,
THE EFFECTS OF PLASTIC POLLUTION ON MARINE HABITAT 2

synthetic fibers from laundry discharge litter and landfills debris (Rezania et al., 2018). Due to

the large diversity of sources, it is difficulty to find the identification of secondary microplastics.

Pyroclastic is another plastic litter that is developed from the organized burning of manufactured

plastics (Turner et al., 2019). They have been found on the shoreline of beaches in south west

England.

Marine Life as Bioindicators

Marine life is being used as bioindicators as bioindicators for how chemical induced that

marine is and how they could track these levels to further lower it (Bonanno & Orlando-Bonaca,

2018; Brown & Takada, 2017). Bioindicators are living organism like plants, animals, and

microbes which provide data on the quality of deep marine ecosystems to high altitudes

(Bonanno & Orlando-Bonaca, 2018). The logic of bioindicators rely on the hypothesis that

cumulative effects of environment changes integrated over trends of diversity that enables

scientists and managers to track trends over space and time. (Bonanno & Orlando-Bonaca,

2018; Brown & Takada, 2017). Bioindicators are important tools for detecting changes in the

environment and have the potential for assessing the health of ecosystems before their

functionality is compromised (Bonanno & Orlando-Bonaca, 2018). The most common

bioindicators investigated were seabirds and marine turtles. Mussels were also used to illustrate

spatial and temporal trends of several contaminants in the ocean (Brown & Takada, 2017).

Limitations on Plastic Pollution

Organization and countries have started to promote restrictions to limit the use of single

use plastics that often ends up on beach shores (Wysocki, & Le Billon, 2019) These single use

plastics include plastic bags and straws and more. There are a variety of hotspots around the
THE EFFECTS OF PLASTIC POLLUTION ON MARINE HABITAT 2

Mediterranean Sea that are more vulnerable to ocean pollution and the ingestion of plastics by

marine life (Compa et al., 2019). They do this by first finding ways to prove that these are in fact

problems that affect marine life. The Sixth International Marine Debris Conference is a study

geared towards spreading awareness and present new multi-jurisdictional legislative

interventions to reduce single-use plastics (Schnurr et al., 2018). Certain interventions are being

put in place to ban, adding taxes, or fees or levies on single-use plastics such as banning free

plastic bags which Canada has already implemented in Montreal (Schnurr et al., 2018; Tessnow-

von Wysocki, & Le Billon, 2019). Different treaties are being designed to garner participation

from the government and organizations to provide funding and research methods to address this

global crisis of pollution (Tessnow-von Wysocki & Le Billon, 2019).

Conclusion

Microplastics will continue to increase and have adverse effects on marine life if microplastics

buildup is not properly taken care of. The hazard of toxins, entanglement, and strangulation of

marine life will decrease the population of marine life, eventually causing an imbalance in the

food chain and ecosystem (Martínez-Gómez, & Vethaak, 2019). Microplastic pollution impacts

animals and the environment but it also impacts the economy. Tourism, which is a major

contributor to the economy, greatly depends on the aesthetic environment. The littering of the

beach shorelines reduces tourist attraction, especially if the seafood is also posing a threat to

humans (Xanthos & Walker, 2017). Marine life is gradually gaining an immunity to these

microplastics, but it will eventually change their biology affecting reproduction and leading to

death (De Frond et al., 2018). This plastic pollution issue has to be addressed and properly taken

care of for there to be a significant change in marine pollution and its effects on marine life.
THE EFFECTS OF PLASTIC POLLUTION ON MARINE HABITAT 2

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