This contamination by microplastics is happening planet problem. It seems that there is no place on Earth free of them. Recent scientific discovery shows that: krill and sea slops ingest plastic particles in the Southern Ocean. The result of this pollutant entering the food chain is as follows: whales, seals, penguins, seabirds and fish are in serious danger.
A new study led by researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) discovered microplastics in krill (Euphausia is gorgeous), a small shrimp-like crustacean and salps (salpa thompsoni), gelatinous marine invertebrates. Results are disturbing for Türkiye biodiversityIt has just been published in the journal ‘Royal Society Open Science’.
“The ingestion of microplastics from other zooplankton species from these organisms, a real and continuous process” gets the work that warns about Impact of plastic pollution on Antarctic marine ecosystems.
“Microplastics (particles smaller than 5 millimeters) are present in most of the world’s oceans as a result of long-distance transport through air and ocean currents, including in remote and isolated areas such as the Southern Ocean, as well as local pollution,” takes the text.
While Antarctic krill has been observed ingesting microplastics in laboratory environments, the team’s findings suggest that these animals and other zooplankton are consume plastic in its natural environment.
These pollutants are found in both surface waters, seafloor and ice.. Due to their small size and buoyancy, they can clump together with other suspended organic particles and phytoplankton, causing them to be engulfed by zooplankton.
“Junk food”
Ingestion of what the study authors refer to as “Junk food“worrying”, corresponding to synthetic plastics, because Antarctic marine ecosystems are “particularly susceptible to this type of pollution.” short food chain and wide endemism.
The main risk is that “trophic transfer of microplastics” will occur. The study authors emphasize, as both salps and krill are “an important food source for many top predators.”
These two species are critical to the diet of much of the marine wildlife in the Southern Ocean. Krill is the main food source for whales, penguins and seals.while some larger fish and seabirds eat the salts.
But there is more: “The ingestion of microplastics by krill and sea salps may also affect their ability to transport carbon to the deep sea.“.
The Southern Ocean is one of the largest carbon sinks on the planet. and these animals play a fundamental role in transporting atmospheric CO2 to the depths of the oceans.
Interactions with microplastics have the potential to interfere with the amount of carbon these organisms are able to capture and capture in the deep ocean.
In this sense, Clara Manno, pelagic marine ecologist at BAS, states that in addition to being important food sources in the Antarctic marine ecosystem, krill and sea salps play ‘crucial role in slowing climate change’.
Lead author Laura Wilkie Johnston, a marine biologist at BAS, expressed her deep concern about this finding and the future impact of microplastics in this environment.
Microfibers from Laundry
Researchers collected krill and salpa samples on two research missions in 2016 at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and near the island of South Georgia in 2018.
Microplastics of both species were removed. plastic microfibers most general. One of the biggest sources of these fibers is released from clothing during washing and drying.
About 60% of the krill and salts it contains nylonIt is a microplastic with important commercial applications. clothing, fishing gear, rope and car tires reinforced
also found other polymers which can it come from cable coatings, moisture protection fabrics or antifouling paintsamong other uses.
“In this study, we show how these animals are vulnerable to plastic in their natural environment. The research provides new insights into the amounts and types of plastic krill and salps exposed in the Southern Ocean, said Emily Rowlands, a BAS marine biologist and co-author of the report.
HE Antarctic krill It is one of the species with the highest biomass on the planet. They live in herds and live in groups of millions of miles over tens of kilometers. Between 150,000 and 200,000 tons are caught each year, mostly for aquaculture.
This salp They are similar to jellyfish, but structurally they have more in common with vertebrates. The excrement and dead bodies of these organisms carry large amounts of carbon to the seafloor.
Their abundance means they have a significant impact on the ocean carbon cycle and therefore on climate change.. Some studies show that removing up to 6.8 billion tons of carbon from the world’s seas each year.
Reference work: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsos.221421
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