Microplastics in the oceans have an impact on dolphins, seals and whales

The author of the study, Sarah Nelms from the University of Exeter, does not mince her words. „It is shocking but not surprising that every animal has absorbed microplastics.” One positive thing that she and her team noticed was „that the number of particles was relatively low at 5.5 per animal. From this we conclude that the animals defecate the particles”.

According to the research, 84 percent of the particles found stem from synthetic fibers, the rest being from the remains of plastic bottles broken down by current and UV irradiation, food packaging and other articles of plastic. Most microplastics found had been stored in the stomachs of the animals and not in the intestines. It could therefore well be that these particles were also responsible for the animals’ deaths since more plastic particles were found in the digestive tracts of the animals ,which might have led to deadly infectious diseases.

Nelms and her colleagues urgently push for further research on the effects of microplastics on marine animals and on humans. Marine animals are the focus of research since they are important indicators of the health of our ecosystems and our seas.