A Review of Microplastics and Their Impact on Ocean Ecosystems

Microplastics are commonly found in many ocean ecosystems and species. They are extremely prevalent in the environment, caused by the degradation of larger pieces of plastics. However, their health impacts on different trophic levels have not been extensively studied. In this paper, we seek to examine the health impacts of microplastics on various marine and terrestrial trophic levels, including producers, primary consumers, larger marine organisms, decomposers, and also humans. In this review, we identify similar health impacts on each trophic level from microplastics, namely: tissue irritation, inflammation, and damage, stress responses, and disruption of immune and metabolic processes. This is significant as it demonstrates that microplastics have the potential to harm organisms no matter their trophic level or size. We also find that the main factor determining direct microplastic ingestion is feeding strategy. Furthermore, we determine that microplastics do not biomagnify through food chains; however, they do bioaccumulate in organisms. Additionally, we examine microplastic concentrations within many species including commonly farmed marine organisms, and also within water systems. Finally, we describe potential solutions for the problem of microplastics in natural ecosystems. Our findings contribute to the larger body of work regarding microplastics by detailing their health impacts on organisms and analyzing potential causes, correlations, results, and solutions.