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Effects of plastics on terrestrial wildlife
Summary
This review pulls together existing research on how plastic pollution affects land animals—through eating it, getting tangled in it, or even building it into their nests and burrows—and finds we know far less about this than we do about plastic's impact on ocean life. That's a problem because land animals (and the plants and food chains they're part of) are quietly absorbing plastic pollution too, and since humans share these same environments and food sources, the gaps in this research mean we're likely underestimating how much plastic exposure affects the world around us, including us.
Global plastic production continues to rise at a rapid pace and, combined with inadequate waste management, has become a growing threat to wildlife. In this review, we summarize current knowledge on the main sources, types, and characteristics of plastic debris in terrestrial environments, including its persistence, degradation, and distribution in natural and human-modified landscapes. Furthermore, we examine the main pathways of interaction between terrestrial vertebrates and plastic pollution, such as ingestion, entanglement, and the incorporation of synthetic materials into nests, burrows, and shelters. We then assess the consequences of these interactions at multiple levels of biological organization, including physical, chemical, and behavioural effects, as well as their potential ecological implications for population dynamics, trophic interactions, and habitat use. Despite growing global attention to plastic pollution, our results reveal a marked research bias towards marine systems. A literature review based on Web of Science revealed a notably smaller number of studies on terrestrial vertebrates compared to marine and coastal species, highlighting a significant knowledge gap. Overall, this review underscores the need for more comprehensive and integrative research to better understand the impacts of plastic pollution on terrestrial biota and ecosystem functioning, particularly in scenarios of chronic exposure and increasing environmental accumulation.