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Marine plastic pollution - Coggle Diagram
Marine plastic pollution
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Impacts on wildlife
Entanglement
Definition: the entrapping, encircling or constricting of marine animals by plastic debris.
Reported at least 344 species to date, including all marine turtle species, more than two-thirds of seal species, one-third of whale species, and one-quarter of seabirds
Commonly involve plastic rope, netting and abandoned fishing gear
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Interaction
Definition: collisions, obstructions, abrasions or use as substrate
Fishing gear, for example, has been shown to cause abrasion and damage to coral reef ecosystems upon collision
Ecosystem structures can also be impacted by plastics following interference of substrate with plastics (impacting on light penetration, organic matter availability and oxygen exchange)
Floating plastics also help transport invasive marine species, thereby threatening marine biodiversity and the food web
Ingestion
Can occur unintentionally, intentionally, or indirectly through the ingestion of prey species containing plastic
Reported at least 233 marine species, including all marine turtle species, more than one-third of seal species, 59% of whale species, and 59% of seabirds
The size of the ingested material is ultimately limited by the size of the organism, with plastic fibres in filter-feeding oysters, and large amounts of plastic sheeting in sperm whales
Multiple impacts on organism health:
- poor appetite and false sense of satiation
- obstruction or perforation of the gut, causing ulcerative lesions, or gastric rupture
- biochemical responses such as oxidative stress, metabolic disruption, reduced enzyme activity, and cellular necrosis
- death
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