Researchers say effects will be felt beyond molluscs as reefs
shelter other marine life
Fiona HarveyEnvironment correspondent
Wed 30 Jan 2019 06.00 GMTLast modified on Wed 30 Jan
2019 15.30 GMT
Mussels start to lose their grip when exposed to microplastics,
research has found, in the latest example of the damaging effects of plastic
pollution on marine life.
When blue mussels were exposed to doses of non-biodegradable
microplastics over 52 days, they lost about half their power to stick to
surfaces. The weakening of their attachment appears to be the result of
producing many fewer byssal threads, the thin fibres produced by mussels that
enable them to attach to rocks, ropes and other undersea environments.
The research, carried out at the Portaferry Marine Laboratory in
Northern Ireland, and reported in the journal Environmental
Pollution, is among the first to study the effects
of microplastics on marine organisms.
Microplastics have been found across the world in a wide variety
of environments, from tapwater and seawater to flying
insects and are probably even in the air
we breathe. Last year, a study found microplastics
in human faeces for the first time.
Some are microplastics that have been deliberately manufactured,
for instance as microbeads
in cosmetics, but most are the result of the breakdown of
bigger pieces of plastic debris. There are vast numbers of sources of
microplastics – for instance, synthetic
clothing can shed tiny fibres when washed – making it
difficult to remove them from use.
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