Zooplankton Vs Faecal Pellets

For years after the terrible acts of 9/11 the United States Government used many different tactics to acquire information about Osama bin Laden and the terrorist group known as Al Qaeda, who was involved with them, and what they were planning next. The way the government, the CIA specifically, tried and succeeded in torturing its detainees was astounding and sometimes stomach churning as shown in the movie, Zero Dark Thirty, and it’s no wonder that President Obama reformed the laws and regulations that President George W. Bush installed and allowed the CIA to do. The second item about torture for military use was the reliability of the techniques and how often and how much information was actually acquired from

The problem with plastic ending up in the ocean is that marine life is being harmed by the presence of it. A study done on the harbor seals in the Netherlands found that more than 12% had plastic in the digestive system (California Coastal Commission). The list of affected species indicates that marine debris is affecting a significant number of species. It affects at least 267 species worldwide, including 86% of all sea turtle species, 44% of all seabird species, and 43% of all marine mammal species (Save our shores). The problem is underestimated because the marine life that ingests plastic or dies from entanglement often goes undiscovered due to the vastness of the ocean, as they either sink or are eaten by predators before they are discovered (Plastic Debris). The potential harm from ingestion of plastics is not restricted to seabirds. Plastic bags drifting on ocean currents resemble the prey of turtles. There is evidence that their survival is being hindered by plastic debris with young sea turtles being vulnerable (Ocean pollution). Over the past 20 years polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have polluted marine food webs at an increasing rate, and are prevalent in seabirds. Though their adverse effects may not always be apparent, PCBs lead to reproductive disorders, increase the risk of disease and alter hormone levels. These chemicals have a detrimental effect on marine organisms even at very low levels and plastic pellets could be a route for PCBs into marine food

It is known today that 60% of the plastics being dumped into bodies of water get ingested by animals in the oceans (Center for Biological Diversity, http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ocean_plastics/). Humans use plastics everyday, but what we don’t realize is that after recycling our bottles, they end up being dumped into our oceans where ocean life mistakes a plastic bag for a jelly fish. Today plastics can be one of the main causes of intestinal blockage which ends up clogging the animal 's stomach, not allowing them to digest any kinds of food eventually dying off (Macklin, 2015). Although there is no way that all researchers will be able to prevent

In 1988, it was determined that the United States alone, was producing 30 million tonnes of plastic per year (Derraik, J.G.B., 2002). This can be compared with the global and annual production of 260 million tonnes of plastic as of 2012 (Pearson, E., 2014). Plastics are lightweight, durable, and cheap to make. This makes them incredibly easy to sell and manufacture. However, these attributes are many of the reasons why plastics are the most prominent type of marine debris, and why they are a serious hazard to various ecosystems and the organisms that live within them (Derraik, J.G.B.,

It is not just marine animals, from planktons to whales, which ingest microplastics. It can end up in humans when they eat seafood.

However, the effects of our pollution are already taking a toll on the ocean’s environment and marine life. Today, around 40% of the ocean surface is made up of billions of plastic garbage. Research shows that the ratio of the amount of plastic to plankton is 6 to 1. This means that there is 6 times more plastic than plankton in the

One of the issues that is currently harming the ocean is the presence of pollution. Studies have shown that over the past thirty years, people have increased their use of plastics and synthetic materials and recently it has become even more abundant (Laist). The amount of plastic debris that has entered the ocean is partially due to people 's inability to properly dispose of plastic and waste. This has immeasurable effects on the physical ecosystem, as well as the creatures who inhabit it. While plastic is very buoyant, it takes a very long time to degrade, and it is usually eaten by

Once in the lakes, tiny organisms consume the plastics. "We are potentially disrupting our endocrine system, that means the production of humans might be at stake. It is as dramatic as it sounds," says Lozano.

Over the few years, humans have discarded millions of tons of garbage into the oceans. Ever wonder where the cup you threw out this morning will end up? Or the plastic spoon you used for lunch? How about the cap of a water bottle? The calamitous plastic ends up in the water, taking thousands of years to decompose. The consumption of plastic by the marine life is perilous and the leading cause of death for life on shore.

Sea animals mistake the plastic as seaweed or jellyfish and mistakenly digest it which causes problems in their bodies that can kill. them. Not only sealife is being affected though, “As plastics break apart in the ocean, they also release potentially toxic chemicals such as bisphenol (BPA), which can enter the food web” (Klein). Fish and other marine species eat the plastic in their habitat and us humans eventually eat them releasing the dangerous chemicals into our bodies.

Some ways that plastic enters the marine environment can be  through improper waste management, intentional or accidental dumping and littering near shorelines or at sea, or it could even be through stormwater runoff carrying them to sea. “Plastics are used in many aspects of daily life and are a big part of our waste stream. Many plastics are colorful and will float in water, which makes plastic debris a very visible part of the marine debris problem.”(OR&R's Marine Debris)”. Plastic is used by humans everyday because it is in mostly everything. From phones to water bottles to your toothbrush. Plastic comes in many colors and can easily seen floating on the water's surface. That means that it is even easier for fish to see and be mistaken for food.

In the article, "Plastic in Our Oceans", Kimberly Amaral discusses the everyday uses of plastic and how it can be beneficial to humans, but harmful to marine life. As fishermen casually dump waste overboard, animals mistake it for food sources, such as a turtle mistaking a plastic grocery bag for a jellyfish. From the trash brought out to sea, gyres, large circulations of water, carry the garbage through currents, spreading it to all over the ocean, specifically to the central gyre. Amaral notes common ways for marine life to die from plastic, which include entanglement by plastic rings, consumption of plastic bags and pellets which stuff the intestines and lead to health problems, and suffocation. As researchers today work hard to discover

Due to their regurgitation ability; most studies have focused on the ingestion of plastic pollution by bird, this does little harm to birds used in the studies. The effects of ingestible plastic on fish have not been studied as thoroughly and no studies have been conducted on filter-feeding organisms, which do not possess a feeding mechanism which would allow them to distinguish between plastic and plankton. Plastic pollution is only getting worse due to increasing population of developing countries. A wide variety of marine species is known to be harmed by plastic debris. This could threaten the survival of certain species, especially since many are sadly endangered by other types of anthropogenic actions.

Because persistent organic pollutants in the marine environment attach to the surface of plastic debris, floating plastics in the oceans have been found to accumulate pollutants and transport them through ocean currents.10 Floating and migrating plastic debris has also been found to transport invasive marine species.11 Increasingly, research shows that marine life that ingests plastics coated with pollutants can absorb these pollutants their bodies.

The effect of microplastics on our oceans marine life is indirect and therefore less obvious. Unlike microplastics, standard trash can directly harm animals by suffocating birds or imitating food. Microplastics play no direct threat to marine life, however, their long-term effect on clams, oysters, and other filter feeders will surely cause long-term catastrophe to our marine food web. So that brings us to the overlying problem, tiny microplastics and microfibers in our oceans created by a society built on synthetic materials are causing huge negative effects in our ocean's food webs. By bringing awareness to all these factors solutions can then be formed.