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Mounting microplastic pollution harms 'earthworms of the sea' – report
Ingestion of microplastics by
lugworms could have impact on ocean ecosystems due to their importance to food
chainTiny bits of
plastic rubbish ingested by marine worms is significantly harming their health
and will have wider impact on ocean ecosystems, scientists have found.
Microplastic
particles, measuring less than 5mm in size, have been accumulating in the
oceans since the 1960s and are now the most abundant form of solid-waste
pollution on Earth.
Two
UK-based studies published in the journal Current Biology looked at whether
these near-invisible, microscopic plastics that sink into mud and sand in high
concentrations are causing harm to species at the base of the food chain that
ingest this sediment during feeding, and play a key ecological role as a source
of food for other animals.
Using
the lugworm as an indicator species, the first study, from the University of Exeter,
found that worms feeding in highly contaminated ocean sediment ate less and had
lower energy levels. The second study, from Plymouth University, has
established for the first time that ingesting microplastics can transfer
pollutants and additives to worms, reducing health and biodiversity.
Ingestion
of microplastics by species at the base of the food web is a cause for concern
as little has been known about its effects until now. Many other organisms that
have a similar feeding behaviour, such as starfish, sea cucumbers and fiddler
crabs, may be similarly affected.
Lugworms
are common invertebrates found widely found across the whole of the north
Atlantic, living in burrows in the sand of beaches. They eat sand particles,
digesting any micro-organisms and nutrients and passing the sand as waste
through their tail, leaving a distinctive trail or "cast" on the
beach. The worm can make up about 30% of the biomass of an average sandy beach,
making it an important source of food for wading birds and flatfish.
The
"earthworms of the sea", lugworms provide another important ecosystem
service by turning over large volumes of sand, replenishing organic material
and oxygenating the upper layers to keep the sediment healthy for other animals
and microorganisms to thrive in.Microplastics can be made from polyethylene,
polyethylene terephthalate, PVC or polystyrene. They are too small to be
captured through existing wastewater treatment process, and wash straight into
the ocean.
To read more
- http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/02/microplastic-pollution-harms-lugworms-sea-oceans
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