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The behaviors of microplastics in the marine environment
Summary
This review synthesized research on the behaviors of microplastics in the marine environment — including transport, weathering, biofouling, ingestion, and chemical interactions — to characterize their full environmental lifecycle.
Despite the pollution of microplastics being internationally recognized, the understanding of their behaviors in marine environment is still developing. Microplastics are ubiquitous in the marine environment, with the potential to cause harm to marine ecosystem. Here, we would classify the behaviors of microplastics as physical behaviors (i.e. migration, sedimentation and accumulation), chemical behaviors (i.e. degradation and adsorption) and biobehaviors (i.e. ingestion, translocation and biodegradation), and a further discussion on their behavioral mechanisms were presented to better understand their impacts for the marine environment.