We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
The adverse health effects of increasing microplastic pollution on aquatic mammals
Summary
Researchers reviewed the current evidence on microplastic contamination in aquatic ecosystems and its adverse health effects on aquatic mammals, which are particularly vulnerable as top predators. The study highlights that microplastics accumulate through the food chain and may cause physical harm, chemical toxicity, and serve as carriers for other pollutants, posing serious concerns for marine mammal populations.
Microplastics (MPs), an emerging ubiquitous pollutant in the aquatic ecosystem, pose serious health concerns to the survival of aquatic fauna, especially top predators (e.g., aquatic mammals). It is challenging to investigate the toxicological profile of MPs in aquatic mammals due to their diverse toxicological behaviour, physico-chemical properties, and other technical and ethical issues. This study reviewed the current burden of MPs in the aquatic ecosystem, the occurrence of MPs in the various tissues of aquatic mammals, its composition (heavy metals, pesticides, pathogens), and possible health effects on individual and population levels in aquatic mammals. Aquatic mammals are constantly exposed to MPs directly and indirectly via the food-web. The MPs and a wide range of toxic heavy metals, pesticides, and pathogens added during manufacturing or adsorbed from the surrounding environments are bioaccumulated in aquatic mammals for years. Due to their long life-span and heavy body masses, these pollutants can cause several serious health issues in aquatic mammals that can drastically reduce the population size and ultimately can cause extinction, especially in vulnerable populations. Still today the toxicological profile of MPs and its presence in other deep tissues largely remains unknown in aquatic mammals. We therefore suggest a global assessment of the risks associated with the consumption of MPs by aquatic mammals and the presence of MPs in their habitats.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Microplastics and associated contaminants in the aquatic environment: A review on their ecotoxicological effects, trophic transfer, and potential impacts to human health
This review examines how microplastics and the chemical contaminants they carry move through aquatic food chains from small organisms up to larger predators. Researchers found that microplastics can transfer toxic additives and absorbed pollutants to organisms that ingest them, with potential implications for seafood safety and ultimately human health.
Unveiling the effects of microplastics pollution on marine fauna
This review examines how microplastic pollution harms marine animals at every level of the food chain, from tiny plankton to large predators. Through ingestion, entanglement, and building up in tissues over time, microplastics disrupt feeding, reproduction, and growth in marine life, which also raises concerns about human exposure through seafood consumption.
Plastic Pollution is a Serious Menace to Ecosystem Health with Special Reference to Aquatic Ecosystems and its Associated Challenges, Opportunities, and Mitigations
This review examines how plastic pollution, including microplastics, threatens aquatic ecosystem health, affecting fish, birds, and mammals through ingestion, entanglement, and chemical exposure. Researchers highlighted that our understanding of microplastic dynamics — their release, retention, accumulation, and transfer across ecosystems — remains limited. The study calls for more research into the long-term ecological consequences of microplastic contamination in aquatic environments.
Animal exposure to microplastics and health effects: A review
Researchers reviewed how microplastic exposure affects animals across terrestrial and aquatic environments, finding that species suffer physical harm, chemical contamination from pollutants that stick to plastic surfaces, inflammation, and behavioral changes. Because microplastics accumulate up the food chain, the review warns that animals entering the human food supply may carry these particles into our bodies.
A comprehensive review of the impact of microplastics on aquatic organisms: From ingestion to ecological consequences
This comprehensive review assessed the impacts of microplastics on diverse aquatic organisms—including fish, marine mammals, mollusks, crustaceans, and microorganisms—from ingestion through ecological-level consequences. The authors found that microplastics cause physical injury, oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, and behavioral changes across taxa, with downstream effects on food web structure and ecosystem function.