What effect is plastic having on marine life?
Large pieces of plastic can kill by entrapment, suffocation and drowning. Smaller pieces can be ingested, causing choking or intestinal blockage. In some cases, starvation occurs because the plastic makes the animal feel full without having had any nourishment. Plastic consumed by marine life appears to either pass through the digestive tract intact, if it is small enough, or remains in the animal, blocking the intestinal tract, causing death. When the animal dies, the plastic is either released to be eaten again, or it is swallowed by a predator eating the plastic-ridden prey. In the case of seabirds, many of them simply perish on shore with their stomach contents eventually being the only thing to remain. Accumulation of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) on plastic, and the resulting effects on marine life when this plastic is ingested is a topic of much discussion in the scientific community. The term POP (persistent organic pollutant) is a description of organic materials which
