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Plastic pollution of four understudied marine ecosystems: a review of mangroves, seagrass meadows, the Arctic Ocean and the deep seafloor
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This review synthesized evidence for plastic pollution in four understudied marine ecosystems: mangroves, seagrass meadows, the Arctic Ocean, and the deep seafloor. All four ecosystems contained measurable plastic pollution, with microplastics documented in organisms across trophic levels, and the review identified major knowledge gaps in understanding plastic impacts on these habitats.
Plastic pollution is now a worldwide phenomenon affecting all marine ecosystems, but some ecosystems and regions remain understudied. Here, we review the presence and impacts of macroplastics and microplastics for four such ecosystems: mangroves, seagrass meadows, the Arctic Ocean and the deep seafloor. Plastic production has grown steadily, and thus the impact on species and ecosystems has increased, too. The accumulated evidence also indicates that plastic pollution is an additional and increasing stressor to these already ecosystems and many of the species living in them. However, laboratory or field studies, which provide strong correlational or experimental evidence of ecological harm due to plastic pollution remain scarce or absent for these ecosystems. Based on these findings, we give some research recommendations for the future.
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Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.