Plastic pollution is a serious global problem that impacts all living things and crucial ecosystems. In the ocean, scientists have determined that microplastics are being spread through animal waste at surprising levels.
What’s happening?
A research team from Tel Aviv University found that marine animals consume plastic and excrete microplastics in their feces. A write-up calls this phenomenon “alarming.”
The particles are so small that they aren’t identifiable and are being consumed by other marine life. This plastic spread causes buildups, harms ecosystems, and increases carbon and nitrogen levels on the seafloor.
Noa Shenkar explained that the team investigated “whether and how…