Invisible Invaders: The Menace of Microplastics in Our Oceans

By Ivan Burmeister

The glimmering waves, shimmering horizon, and the immense breathtaking extent of our ocean have long captivated our mind and souls. However, a looming danger lurks below this surface: microplastics. These tiny, virtually invisible particles have infiltrated our oceans, posing a grave threat to marine life and, ultimately, our own well-being. It's time we take a stand to address this issue and all come together to contribute to ocean cleanup efforts.

Microplastics are “extremely small pieces of plastic debris in the environment resulting from the disposal and breakdown of consumer products and industrial waste.” Microplastics come in many different shapes and forms, including microbeads from personal care products, microfibers from synthetic clothes or fabrics, and a range of different shaped fragments from larger plastic debris. Because of their tiny size, they can easily infiltrate aquatic ecosystems and go unnoticed by the human eye or some ocean preservation efforts. The amount of plastic in our oceans is truly staggering.  Woods Hole Oceanographic Institutions reported that a 2015 study conducted by Science.com estimated that roughly eight million tons of plastic enter our oceans each year. Only 1% of this immense amount of plastic is found to be floating atop the surface. This statistic suggests that a majority of our ocean’s plastic is likely microplastic suspended in the water or beneath the ocean floor sediment.

Microplastics pose a significant threat to marine life, affecting organisms at all levels of the food chain. The most concerning impact they have is on filter feeders. These are animals such as mussels, oysters, or krill who inevitably and inadvertently consume microplastics while feeding on algae and plankton. These plastics will then accumulate in their digestive tracts, causing blockages, malnutrition, an introduction to foreign toxic chemicals and, in the worst-case scenario, death. These toxic chemicals have been directly linked to a fairly recent influx in cancer seen within wildlife across the globe.
 
Microplastics are also in everyday store-bought food items. While a majority of it comes from processing and packaging plants, a large source of infiltration is also derived from consumption of sea animals. These plastics start their way into our seafood from the very bottom of the food chain through filter feeders and various other organisms eventually making it all the way to our plates.
 
Microplastics, and plastic in general, are unable to be broken down naturally through biodegradation or through the digestive tract. A study from Ohio State University shows that enzymes, which typically are in charge of breaking down biodegradable materials, don't recognize the bonds that hold polypropylene (plastic) together. This causes plastic to be trapped within the food chain, unable to exit and finding its way directly to whichever animal, human or non-human, that finds itself atop the food chain. While microplastics finding their way into our digestive systems haven't shown serious signs of major digestive blockage linked to death or injury, they do introduce a world of harmful chemicals linked to cancer and other serious health conditions to us. Chemicals like PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls), BPA (bisphenol A), PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and various other carcinogens are found in plastic and are linked to causing life threatening diseases. Various pesticides and flame retardants can also be absorbed and released by plastic once it has been introduced to an animal's digestive system.
 
Our oceans' great coral reefs are also victims of this microplastic attack. While it's true, and very real, that microplastics impact coral through the same methods of ingestion that other non-human animals deal with, coral is unique because of the pretty cool relationship they form with microscopic algae. This algae will inhabit the coral's tissue gaining a protective shelter in which they utilize to photosynthesize and in exchange supply the coral with up to 90% of the food they produce through photosynthesis. While microplastic is very small the microscopic algae is smaller, so when the two meet, microplastic can obstruct the sunlight vital for photosynthesis hindering the algae and coral from getting a vital source of nutrition from our sun. Depending on the scale of microplastic in the environment, this can lead to serious health risks for the coral, leading to bleaching, and even death.

Healthy coral reef. 
​Photo by Shaun Low on Unsplash

Unhealthy coral reef. 
Photo by Nico Smit on Unsplash

​Coral bleaching impacts the entire ecosystem the particular reef lives in. Healthy coral can support thousands of species of fish and other organisms which use the coral for shelter from larger predators, food, and breeding grounds directly contributing to the longevity of a particular species life. Coral's help isn't limited to just the ocean either. Because of the algae that inhabits coral, a positive attribute is that they can also help remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere which ever more slightly helps us win the climate change battle making them ever more vital to our life here on earth. Coral can also help protect the coast from erosion and storm damage by reducing the impact of waves, protecting communities in regions prone to tropical storms and hurricanes.

​There are plenty of things you can add or change to your current lifestyle to help contribute to combating the issue of microplastic pollution in our oceans. By recycling, reducing your usage of single-use plastics, and considering a complete switch to biodegradable plastics we can help reduce the major influx of plastic entering our oceans every year contributing to a better, happier ocean. I encourage you to follow up this article with your own research about biodegradable plastic and explore the ways you can integrate them into your own life. Here are some places you can start:

1. What are biodegradable plastics? The need for a clarified terminology
2. New biodegradable plastics are compostable in your backyard
3. 5 Best Biodegradable Alternatives to Plastic Bags

One by one, we can all contribute to a much cleaner and healthier future for our oceans and the non-human animals that inhabit it.

References

Chatterjee, S., & Sharma, S. (2019, March 1). Microplastics in our oceans and Marine Health. Field Actions Science Reports. The journal of field actions. https://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/5257

US Department of Commerce, N. O. and A. A. (2016b, April 13). What are microplastics?. NOAA’s National Ocean Service. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html
Marine microplastics. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. (2019, February 6). https://www.whoi.edu/know-your-ocean/ocean-topics/ocean-human-lives/pollution/marine-microplastics/

The Ohio State University, Y. V. (2022, June 3). Why isn’t plastic biodegradable? OSU.edu. https://news.osu.edu/why-isnt-plastic-biodegradable/#:~:text=The%20enzymes%20in%20the%20microorganisms,already%20done%20to%20the%20environment.

Exposure to Chemicals in Plastic. Exposure to chemicals in plastic. (n.d.). https://www.breastcancer.org/risk/risk-factors/exposure-to-chemicals-in-plastic
Written By    Michael Greger M.D. FACLM    •        July 11, 2023    Last updated:  July 12. (2023, July 11). Microplastics in seafood and cancer risk . NutritionFacts.org. https://nutritionfacts.org/blog/microplastics-in-seafood-and-cancer-risk/

Are corals plants, animals, or rocks?. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. (2022, April 29). https://www.whoi.edu/know-your-ocean/did-you-know/are-corals-plants-animals-or-rocks/#:~:text=Because%20corals%20are%20animals%2C%20they,home%20in%20the%20coral’s%20tissues.

The Ohio State University, Y. V. (2022, June 3). Why isn’t plastic biodegradeable. OSU.edu. https://news.osu.edu/why-isnt-plastic-biodegradable/#:~:text=The%20enzymes%20in%20the%20microorganisms,already%20done%20to%20the%20environment.

Alexandra Thompson Health Reporter For Mailonline. (2018, May 22). Humans are causing cancer in animals with a surge in plastic waste, dirty oceans, pesticides and even street lamps. Daily Mail Online. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5757461/Humans-causing-cancer-ANIMALS-surge-plastic-waste-light-pollution-pesticides.html

Carlstedt, T. J. (2022, March 15). California and the world move toward cleaning up microplastics: What you need to know now water. The Nickel Report. https://www.huntonnickelreportblog.com/2022/03/california-and-the-world-move-toward-cleaning-up-microplastics-what-you-need-to-know-now/

Zolotova, N., Kosyreva, A., Dzhalilova, D., Fokichev, N., & Makarova, O. (2022, June 14). Harmful effects of the microplastic pollution on Animal Health: A Literature Review. PeerJ. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9205308/

US Department of Commerce, N. O. and A. A. (2013, June 1). Zooxanthellae...what’s that - corals: NOAA’s National Ocean Service Education. Zooxanthellae: Corals Tutorial. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_corals/coral02_zooxanthellae.html#:~:text=The%20relationship%20between%20the%20zooxanthellae,to%20the%20host%20coral%20tissue.
​
What is blue carbon?. Great Barrier Reef Foundation. (n.d.). https://www.barrierreef.org/news/explainers/what-is-blue-carbon#why-is-protecting-blue-carbon-important

Author Bio

​Ivan Burmeister is a sophomore Pro Flight Aviation major at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He plans to pursue a career in Commercial Aviation. His dream is to use his aviation knowledge to travel the world and experience different cultures and customs. Animals have always been a passion of his, surrounding himself with nature and companion animals.