The issue of plastic pollutants in the ocean and their averse effects on marine life is a current and pressing matter. For something with such a huge affect on the world and humanity, you’d think more people would care about it, or even know about it in general, but that’s not the case. In researching information for this topic, we noticed that the many studies and data collections could seem daunting to the regular person who isn’t such a science buff. I imagine that many people would understand this issue and care about it, if they could understand clearly what is being written about it. The same goes for any problem going on that pertains to a specific area of knowledge. While there is a lot of important research articles explaining the effects of marine plastics, the 2014 NOAA Marine Debris Program Report on Ingestion: Occurrence and Health Effects of Anthropogenic Debris Ingested by Marine Organisms stands out for its clarity in this matter. It is of course based on scientific data, yet at the same time geared toward the common man.

The report gives a broad analysis of the issue of marine plastic ingestion, from albatrosses to zooplankton (literally A-Z!!!) The first part summarizes the cause for and effects of ingested marine debris on a variety of marine species: The causes widely depend on where the species looks for food, the type of food each species ingests, and distinct physical qualities that could endanger them. The effects are based off of what type of marine plastic was ingested and how long it was in the system, and can be separated into two categories: physical and physiological. The size and shape of objects can do a lot of damage to the digestive tracts of many species, while the toxins inside the plastics can also have adverse effects on them just as well. The second part of the report denotes what is still missing from research and the problems they pose, such as our underestimate of marine debris due to the possibility of deeper accumulations of marine plastics we have yet to find. Also, there is a lot to further examine in area of toxicology the interaction of predator and prey in this circumstance.

Group #4 is exploring the how plastics affect all sorts of marine species. What drew us to this report was its promise to “summarize the “state of the science” regarding the effects of ingested marine debris and highlight areas where knowledge is currently lacking“. The organized and understandable collection of information combined with a critical lens for the missing pieces in the research made it an easy read and a very telling one that is serving as a springboard to our project. I think everyone can gain from reading this report, as it states what we do know and what we don’t in a way that leaves the door open to further effective investigation of this meaningful topic.

Download (PDF, Unknown)