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A critical review of harm associated with plastic ingestion on vertebrates
Citation
Puskic, PS and Lavers, JL and Bond, AL, A critical review of harm associated with plastic ingestion on vertebrates, Science of The Total Environment, 743 pp. 1-10. ISSN 0048-9697 (2020) [Review Several Works]
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140666
Abstract
Studies documenting plastic ingestion in animals have increased in recent years. Many do not describe the less conspicuous, sub-lethal impacts of plastic ingestion, such as reduced body condition or physiological changes. This means the severity of this global problem may have been underestimated. We conducted a critical review on the sub-lethal impacts of plastic ingestion on marine vertebrates (excluding fish). We found 34 papers which tried to measure plastics' impact using a variety of tools, and less than half of these detected any impact. The most common tools used were visual observations and body condition indices. Tools that explore animal physiology, such as histopathology, are a promising future approach to uncover the sub-lethal impacts of plastic ingestion in vertebrates. We encourage exploring impacts on species beyond the marine environment, using multiple tools or approaches, and continued research to discern the hidden impacts of plastic on global wildlife.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Review Several Works |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | marine debris, plastic pollution, vertebrates, sub-lethal effects |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Ecology |
| Research Field: | Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Terrestrial systems and management |
| Objective Field: | Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems |
| UTAS Author: | Puskic, PS (Mr Peter Puskic) |
| UTAS Author: | Lavers, JL (Dr Jennifer Lavers) |
| UTAS Author: | Bond, AL (Dr Alexander Bond) |
| ID Code: | 139890 |
| Year Published: | 2020 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 14 |
| Deposited By: | Ecology and Biodiversity |
| Deposited On: | 2020-07-13 |
| Last Modified: | 2020-07-27 |
| Downloads: | 5 View Download Statistics |
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