
Audio long-read: How harmful are microplastics?
Nature Podcast
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Microplastics in Marine Environments
Researches still can't agree on whether pollutent carrying microplastics are a significant problem. One hatchling, only nine centimeters long, had forty two pieces of plastic in its gastro intestinal tract. Fibres seem to be a particular problem compared with spheres. Zooplancton among the smallest marine organisms grow more slowly and reproduce less successfully in the presence of microplastics. The animal's eggs are smaller and less likely to hatch.
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