Fish went to food “lethal” plastic – GISMETEO.Novosti

Fish prefer microplastics their usual diet. A recent study of scientists, published in the journal «Science» (Science) , found that perch fry with great pleasure that eat plastic, instead of the usual for them to eat plankton. This plastic is deposited them in the stomach, which is why among the perch increased mortality has slowed the pace of their growth and reproduction, as well as congenital abnormalities are observed in the behavior. For example, the fish lose their ability to smell a predator, which makes them even more vulnerable.

Soon the plastic in the ocean is the same as the fish. © Banana Republic images | Shutterstock

Co-author of the published article, Professor Peter Eklov said: “For the first time we have found that animals prefer to eat the plastic, and this gives us cause for alarm. There is a growing level of pollution in the Baltic Sea, we have found that in recent years reduced the population of key species of fish like pike and perch. Our study revealed a potential driver for the study, provoking

mortality. “The scientists placed the perch and pike in a container. Those perch, which eat microplastics were eaten four times faster than those who did not eat the plastic. All fish, nurtured plastic, was killed within 48 hours

Researcher Una Lpnnstedt noticed that the consequences of the fact that fish absorb large amounts of plastic, will be felt throughout the food chain:. “If in the early stages of development species most of them suffered from the effects of microplastics, this will lead to an increase in mortality, and will seriously affect the aquatic ecosystems. »

microplastics produced in the form of large pieces of waste plastic to decompose in the environment. However, a huge amount of the synthetic microfiber clothing, for example, will still penetrate the sewage system, bypass the treatment plant and so fall into the sea.

companies producing cosmetics, continue to use plastic micro-granules in their products, claiming that exclude them of production in 2020. Politicians are just beginning to realize the potential danger of microplastics that is so small that it is able to penetrate through the intestinal wall and be absorbed into the tissues of the animal organism. One of the experts in the House of Commons said that microplastics may even get into the atmosphere and contribute to air pollution, causing respiratory problems.