Meghan Hodges
Plastic pollution is a critical environmental issue that poses a significant threat to marine life. The amount of plastic waste in the ocean is growing rapidly, and it is estimated that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050. Plastic pollution affects a wide range of marine animals, from seabirds to whales, and the impact of plastic consumption on these animals is multifaceted. While the majority of marine animal deaths are unobserved, making it challenging to estimate the number of deaths accurately, scientists have found that the number of animals affected by plastic pollution is vast. This paragraph will discuss the impact of beach pollution on marine life and the extent to which it causes animal deaths.
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What You'll Learn
Plastic ingestion by filter feeders
Marine animals that rely on eyesight may mistake plastic for food, and those that use echolocation to find their prey, such as dolphins and whales, can be confused by plastic. Marine animals are crippled by abandoned "ghost" fishing lines, with common victims being dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, whales, and sea lions. Plastic ingestion can be poisonous and disruptive to marine wildlife, causing distress and impaired health and survival. Over half of the fish stocks had ingested plastic as of 2018, and millions of seabirds die each year from plastic ingestion.
Filter feeders are animals that filter or strain food from the water column. Sea cucumbers, anemones, and basking sharks are a few species of filter feeders. Filter feeders are generally non-selective in their feeding, consuming whatever they catch. This makes them particularly vulnerable to plastic pollution. Plankton, shellfish, and baleen whales are filter feeders that inadvertently consume plastic particles, unable to differentiate them from their natural food sources.
Baleen whales, in particular, are at high risk of microplastic ingestion due to their immense prey consumption and filter-feeding behavior. They are likely to ingest millions of anthropogenic microparticles per day, including microplastics and microfibers. A blue whale may ingest up to 10 million pieces of microplastic per day, while a humpback whale may ingest 200,000 pieces. Baleen, the oral filtering structure of mysticete whales, captures plastic pieces of all sizes, shapes, and types, including expanded polystyrene foam, fragments, fibers, nurdles, and spherical microbeads.
The impact of plastic ingestion on filter feeders can be detrimental. Plastic can clog the filter and esophagus of filter feeders, and larger pieces of plastic can lead to body entanglement and damage to individual baleen plates or the entire rack of baleen. Microplastics can also enter the bodies of filter feeders indirectly through trophic transfer, or within the bodies of ingested prey items. This further impairs their health and survival, as well as posing risks to the broader food chain.
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Abandoned fishing gear entanglement
Abandoned fishing gear, also known as "ghost gear", poses a significant threat to marine life. It is estimated that ghost gear makes up about 10% of ocean plastic pollution, with nets and lines left behind carelessly or intentionally. This abandoned gear can ensnare marine animals, leading to injuries or drowning, as they are unable to reach the surface to breathe. Common victims include dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, whales, and sea lions.
Ghost gear can continue killing marine life long after it enters the ocean. It can spread with ocean currents, reaching remote locations and affecting a wide range of species. A study of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a plastic accumulation zone, found that 86% of the megaplastics in the area were fishing nets. Another study in the south Pacific estimated 18 tons of plastic debris on a 2.5 km stretch of uninhabited beach, with fishing gear contributing 60% of the waste.
The impact of abandoned fishing gear is not limited to marine life; it also affects the fishing industry economically. The replacement of lost gear can incur significant costs, as seen in a crab fishery in British Columbia, where annual replacement expenses exceeded US$490,000.
To address this issue, organizations like Greenpeace and WWF are advocating for global action and the implementation of legally binding treaties to regulate and mitigate the impact of ghost gear. The Global Ghost Gear Initiative, a global alliance of various stakeholders, aims to tackle the problem of lost and abandoned fishing gear worldwide.
The public can also play a role in mitigating this issue by signing petitions, participating in social media campaigns, and supporting organizations dedicated to protecting marine life and reducing plastic pollution.
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Plastic in beach sand
Marine animals face a grave threat from plastic pollution, with an estimated 100,000 killed annually due to plastic ingestion or entanglement. This figure is likely a conservative estimate, as many animals that die at the ocean's depths may decompose, releasing the plastic inside them back into the environment for other creatures to encounter.
Plastics in the ocean come in various forms, from microplastics to discarded fishing gear, and their presence is not limited to the water's surface or the bellies of marine creatures. Beach sand has also become a repository for plastics, posing a significant risk to the animals that inhabit these environments.
Beach sand, particularly along coastlines, has been the focus of growing research interest regarding plastic pollution. Studies have found that plastic particles can accumulate in beach sand, with concentrations ranging from 118 to 1382 pieces per kilogram. This contamination is not isolated to heavily populated areas, as even beaches near unpopulated regions can be affected. For instance, a study in northern Mississippi examined a beach near a flood control reservoir and found an average of 590 microplastic particles per kilogram of sand, with higher concentrations in the lower wrack zone closer to the water.
The presence of microplastics in beach sand has detrimental effects on the local ecosystem. Animals that reside in beach sand, such as lugworms, face challenges similar to those of filter feeders in the ocean. They are unable to distinguish between plastic and their natural food sources, leading to plastic ingestion and potentially fatal blockages in their digestive systems. This issue is not limited to beach-dwelling creatures, as even grazing animals on land have been found to inadvertently consume plastic.
The impact of plastic pollution extends beyond the immediate harm to individual animals. As plastics break down, they can release toxins and contribute to the overall degradation of the environment, threatening the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. Furthermore, the size and morphology of plastic particles play a role in their environmental impact and potential toxicity. Smaller microplastics, with lengths less than 1 mm, have a greater potential to enter the trophic web and affect a broader range of organisms, including microscopic foundation species that support marine life.
Addressing plastic pollution in beach sand is crucial to protecting the diverse array of life that depends on healthy marine ecosystems. It requires collective action and a shift in our plastic-reliant habits to mitigate the harmful consequences of plastic pollution on wildlife.
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Oil drilling spills
While it is difficult to determine the exact number of animal deaths caused by oil spills, the impact of these incidents on wildlife is indisputable. Oil spills can have both direct and indirect effects on animals, leading to mortality and long-term health issues.
One of the most well-known oil spills is the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, which released over 210 million gallons of oil. This spill had catastrophic consequences for wildlife, with an estimated 1 million birds perishing, including brown pelicans and laughing gulls. The true extent of bird mortality may be even higher, as some studies suggest a range of 600,000 to 800,000 bird deaths during the 95-day "acute phase" of the spill. This translates to approximately 8,000 coastal birds dying each day during this period.
Beyond the immediate impact on birds, the Deepwater Horizon spill also affected other species. For instance, studies have shown long-term health issues in dolphins, with higher rates of lung disease, abnormal stress responses, underweight individuals, and anemia. Additionally, the spill killed up to 20% of adult female Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles, threatening their population once again after successful conservation efforts in the 1960s.
Oil spills can also have indirect effects on animals that may not be immediately apparent. For example, exposure to oil can cause lung disease, stress hormone dysfunction, reduced growth, increased vulnerability to diseases, heart failure, and deformities in developing fish. These impacts can lead to reproductive problems in animals, including dolphins, and the effects can be passed down across generations.
The challenge in quantifying the number of animal deaths from oil spills lies in several factors. Firstly, the vastness of the affected areas can make it difficult to survey and collect data. Additionally, animals may die in locations that are hard to access or may sink in the water, never washing up on shorelines. Moreover, the indirect effects of oil spills, such as reproductive issues and long-term health problems, can lead to deaths months or even years after the initial incident, making it challenging to attribute these fatalities directly to the oil spill.
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Plastic waste in oceans
The impact of plastic pollution on marine life is extensive and detrimental. Marine animals, such as seabirds, whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and fish, face the risk of ingestion, entanglement, and suffocation due to plastic waste. For example, discarded fishing gear, or "ghost nets," can entangle and restrict the movement of dolphins, sea turtles, and other marine creatures, leading to starvation, lacerations, infections, and suffocation for those that need to return to the surface to breathe. Additionally, plastic waste can be mistaken for food by filter feeders like plankton and shellfish, as well as animals residing in beach sand, such as lugworms.
The ingestion of plastic has severe consequences for marine wildlife. It can cause physical changes, impair movement, inhibit digestion, and lead to death. Microplastics, in particular, can be mistaken for fish eggs or other tiny organisms, leading to their consumption by sea life. Once ingested, plastics can release toxins and cause internal inflammation, as evidenced by the case of a juvenile sperm whale that died in Spain in 2018 with nearly 30 kilograms of plastic in its digestive tract. It is estimated that about 100,000 marine animals die each year from ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic, and this number is likely an underestimate as decomposed remains at the ocean bottom are not included.
The sources of oceanic plastic pollution are diverse, with the 10 largest emitters being China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh. These countries account for approximately 90% of the plastic that reaches the world's oceans, with a significant contribution from the Yangtze, Indus, Yellow River, Hai, Nile, Ganges, Pearl River, Amur, Niger, and Mekong rivers. Asia is the leading source of mismanaged plastic waste, with China alone contributing 2.4 million metric tons.
Addressing the issue of plastic waste in oceans requires a multifaceted approach. Reducing plastic production and consumption, improving recycling practices, and redesigning products and packaging to use less plastic or facilitate reusability are crucial steps. Additionally, trapping plastic particles at river mouths before they enter the ocean and cleaning up ocean gyres can help mitigate the impact of plastic pollution. While the problem is significant, it is not insurmountable. By working together, governments, industries, scientists, non-governmental organizations, and consumers can make a substantial difference in reducing plastic waste in oceans and protecting marine life.
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Frequently asked questions
It is hard to know exactly how many animals die each year from beach pollution, but it is estimated that at least 100,000 marine animals die from plastic pollution annually. This number is likely an underestimate, as it only accounts for a few species.
Beach pollution can kill animals in several ways. One of the primary reasons is the ingestion of plastic, which can cause intestinal injury and death. Plastic can also enter the food chain, transferring from smaller fish to bigger fish, marine mammals, and eventually human seafood eaters. Another way beach pollution kills animals is through entanglement, which can trap animals, preventing them from finding food, shelter, or being able to swim up for air.
Many different animals are vulnerable to beach pollution, including sea turtles, whales, dolphins, seals, seabirds, penguins, eagles, and microscopic organisms. Endangered species such as Hawaiian monk seals and Pacific loggerhead sea turtles are also at risk, with plastic debris found in their habitats.
Individuals can make an effort to reduce their plastic consumption, recycle, and properly dispose of waste. Volunteering for beach clean-up initiatives and supporting organizations working to address plastic pollution can also help mitigate the impact of beach pollution on animals.
