#see the ropes and nets? all human made which is made of Much more durable material than theirs

[muppenthings]

(Start) (Previously) (Next)

CW: imprisonment(?) being tied up at least

Merry heads out an hour earlier for their meetup. Tide was always waiting for them, perhaps he was already there. Merry hopes so; they want to meet him as soon as possible.

Nearing the location, they notice that Tide's missing. With a sigh, they swim the last stretch before letting the full harvest bag slowly drift to the bottom, taking them with it. The mer makes themself comfortable on the kelp bed; now they can only wait.

With nothing to do but observe their surroundings, they notice changes in the kelp beds, scattered around their meeting location. Merry squints at them; they look bumpy. Almost as if-

A large silhouette appears from a far, distracting them from the sea floor. Tide.

He's quick to notice them, looking briefly surprised to see them there so early. When his eyes land on the harvest bag, his expression softens,

"Hey Merry, you don't need to-"

He suddenly freezes, turning his attention to the sea floor.

And the ocean boils with movement as numerous Ocean mers dart out from pockets underneath the kelp beds.

Two of them are in Tide's face before he can even react, emptying pouches of octopus ink. The giant instinctively reels back with a snarl, temporarily blinded. Meanwhile, a different group uses the distraction to swiftly wrap several large nets around his tail; pinning his fins down and throwing his balance off.

Before Merry can yell at them to stop, strong arms wrap around their midsection, pulling them away from the scene. Merry turns their head to protest, only to be stunned into silence. It was Coral. Coral was dragging them to a waiting group of mers further away. Among them was Elder Jewel.

--

Hissing angrily, Tide swipes after the circling mers; the water had cleared enough for him to see again. But the Ocean mers are far too quick for him, he knows this. His panic builds; he needs to get away now or they'll completely ensnare him. With the nets around his tail hindering full movement, he won't be nearly as fast or steady. Tide still attempts to move forward.

The mers acts fast and he gets several jabs to his gills. No blood is drawn, but the prods are hard enough to make him yelp and reflexively bring his arms down to shield them.

Which is exactly what they want.

Another blinding cloud of ink to his face while others are quickly circling him, wrapping thick ropes and more nets around his arms and torso, pinning his crossed limbs to his chest.

He desperately tries to tear the binds apart, but he quickly realizes that they're made by humans. They won't easily tear without the aid of something sharp and he can't position his hands or mouth to them.

Tide feels them pull the nets tigher around his tail; hooking the ends into another. He can't even move his tail anymore.

There's no escape, so he does the only thing he can do in the moment.

He allows his body to sink to the bottom, protecting at the very least his softer belly and gills from further attacks. The Ocean mers are still circling around and above, armed with more pouches of ink and ropes, spears at the ready.

"He's subdued," one of them announces.

He snarls defiantly at them before his eyes lands further ahead of him. A group of Reef mers are gathered at the bottom; observing his capture no doubt. He instantly recognizes one of them, an old mer has their hand on their shoulder. Merry gazes back at him, eyes wide.

Tide feels the all too familiar sting of betrayal.

"You set me up."

[krazy-kipo]

Amber Knight "Pyro"

Information

Name: Amber Knight

Nickname: Pyro

Species: Human

Powers: Genetic experiment

~

Stats

Intelligence: Very High

Strength: High

Fighting Skills: High

Speed: Average

Durability: Very High

~

 Profile

 Age: 17 (217) years

 Weight: 200 pounds

 Height: 5'10"

Sexuality: Non-binary Lesbian

 Ethnicity: Irish and Native American

 Skin Color: Caucasian 

 Hair color: Dyed Red

 Eye color: Brown

~

 Background

 Weapons: Gunpowder, lighters, sticky sap, firecrackers, home made fire works, nectar bombs, experimental explosives, vines/ropes with hooks, daggers. Steel toed boots.

 Abilities:

- Understands Pyrotechnics to the core and can make an explosive or flammable object out of almost anything. 

- They have memorized the stars and their constellations, know the periodic table by heart, and are very booksmart. Has had many conversations with the Newton wolves and prides themselves on their knowledge. They aren't a super genuis but they know enough to keep an intelligent conversation going for a long time.

- Loves and is good at science. Enjoys reading and collects old books that they find so they can reas them. Not very good at math but is still considered a genius both in and out of a lab.

- Ambers very good with makeup and hair. They were studying cosmetology before the mute epidemic and used to make their own products with friends. Occasionally if they have the time they make conditioners that they sell and trade to mutes.

- Very good at parkour and are hard to sneak up on. They like to climb trees and have an extensive knowledge of nature. Botany and Astronomy were some of their favorite subjects so they have a great understanding of how the world works. 

- They have basic first aid and extreme wilderness survival training. They can start a fire without a flint rock or lighter, they know how to build structurally stable shelters in different environments, can make snares and traps for food, weave nets, dig deep ditches, they can grow and farm their own food, and can filter clean water for drinking.

- Very empathetic to mutes and sometimes it seems like they understand their thoughts. Mega mutes don't seem to mind their presence and will go as far as to hurt other mutes for messing with them. They have gained the interest of more than a couple gangs this way and have earned some respect despite being human.

 Weaknesses:

 - Can be snarky and this snark/sass has gotten them into big trouble with mute gangs. Also much like their weapons they have a very explosive personality. 

- Is very reckless and although smart has a low impulse control. They are often throwing themselves into situations they shouldn't be in and can get themselves hurt when trying to get out.

- Has a big heart for some things and will do whatever's needed to protect certain mutes. They can also be very cold to others without explanation and aren't the best with emotion because of trust issues. Expressing their feelings can be hard for them and being thrust into a world they don't understand or know has been a very difficult adjustment emotionally.

- Doesn't trust easily and has abandonment issues from their parents leaving them in their pod alone to wake up in a new world with no guidance or help. Because of this they have lost many potential allies and friends.

- High pain tolerance is both a gift and a blessing. They have hurt themselves many times without knowing it and have gotten sick from untreated burns and infections that could've easily been solved earlier. They also don't care that much about themselves so they get hurt a lot. 

- Don't ever tell the Mod frogs but they never learned to swim. The can kind of float but if the waters too deep they begin to thrash and will drown if they don't get help.

 Backstory

 Amber was frozen in a cryogenic pod. Their parents were scientists and they saw how the world was going to hell as mutes were just forming. When Amber was young they were sick so they experimented with different medicines and had many trial periods during their first couple years. Their parents began to notice the mutations in Amber as they got better and feared for their life with all the backlash for mutes.

Freezing Amber forcefully they woke up 200 years later in a world they didn't know or understand. Their family was gone and they had no idea if they woke up early or late or if they had just left them in the pod.

Alone and confused their survival pack which had been packed 200 years ago was all they had to face this crazy new world.

 Quickly getting used to mutes and how the new world order worked Amber made a name for themselves as Pyro. Not identifying as male or female they hid at Rat Land and wove in and out of the landscape traveling and creating maps that highlighted resources, hidden burrows, animal territories, and mute pack schedules. They made friends with many mutes and humans and did their best to only be hostile when needed and remain in neutral zones.

Although they were still dealing with their feelings from being abandoned and missing the Old World they found themselves falling in love with this new world and all the science and wonder that came with it.

 They always wear a gas mask and jacket to hide their figure and face. Whenever something goes wrong explosives are the first thing they reach for. Very intelligent for their age both with survival skills and book smarts they become a well known human quickly.

They meet up with Ben and Dave at RatLand and become fast friends. Every now and then they do jobs to help the two out and keep in close contact.

Pyro knows where things used to be and were stored, because of this they're the go too if you want something specific and can't find it. They take on jobs from mutes and get supplies that the packs need. In exchange their aloud safe passage through different territories. Typically the Mod frogs and Newton Wolves ask for their assistance. Through the knowledge they learn from other people and packs they are able to learn to survive.

They're able to avoid and escape Scarlemange despite his multiple attempts to add them to his human collection.

 The Mod Frogs turn against them and constantly look for them. Scarlemange makes it a game. Wanted posters are up everywhere just for them. He becomes intrigued with this person and when captured Amber quickly comes up with the lie their gas mask was burned on and taking it off would rip up their face and possibly kill them. Scarlemange pulls at the mask and a wet paper towel they stuffed in their mask earlier because of an injury falls out making him recoil. He believes that's flesh and decides they can stay and so can their mask...

 Their mask keeps them from falling under the influence of his pheromones. However when asked they agree to help him freely. Secretly they begin to free humans as they pretend to be a lab partner and sabotage his projects. Scarlemange doesn't notice or doesn't mention it. 

 Unable to control them and bored with his life Scarlemange goes to them for entertainment and companionship. He finds himself enjoying their snarky replies along with their long scientific, historical, cosmetic, or philosophical talks and slowly he grows more attached to this strange human. He begins making them the guest of honor at his balls and shares parts of his old life.

Pyro begins giving him small gifts. Things like origami flowers they made with spare paper, a picture they drew, a small passage they wrote, an interesting quote they think he'll like, a song they wrote or a book they found they think he may like. As Scarlemange becomes closer he finds he enjoys giving them things as well.

Dressing them up in different formal attire or spoiling them with nice things that usually only mutes would get. He realizes Pyro is his first human friend well friend at all and Pyro is probably not even their real name. He tries digging for more about their past and even opens up more about himself in an attempt to gain knowledge. They are vague in what they reveal and he finds himself craving more. He needs to be in control and he needs to know things. He starts getting clingy and worried they'll leave and abandon him.

 When his generals notice humans have gone missing and are escaping more frequently he starts to believe it's Pyro. He begins getting desperate for their real name and identity trying to dig up whatever he can from whoever he can. They're not from a burrow and they weren't born on the surface lands. They don't exist and have only just start appearing and it's driving him insane. Pyro talks to him but never about personal things, never about their past or growing up. Never about who they really are and where they come from. Things he's divulged to them. He wants to know what they look like and he becomes obsessed with finding a way to use his pheromones on them so they can never leave his side. His paranoia grows and he fears they'll become bored of him or that their friendship is an act and they'll leave him all alone.

 His attachment grows and he begins thinking of Pyro as his protege and successor. He needs to be able to see them. To control them so they can't leave. When he finds out what they've been doing behind his back and that his suspicions were right about the humans he becomes furious and demands the mask be ripped off as punishment. He figures with their medical lab they can just fix whatever happens and that it'll be fine. That Pyro will be okay and they'll continue to be good friends depsite the set back. 

 It comes off easy and Scarlemange realizes this entire time he's been tricked. He tries to spray them with pheromone perfume but they run off his throne platform, grab a vine and slide down to the ballroom running outside before they can be retrieved. Scarlemange makes it his goal to bring his friend back home and pays high prices hoping the gangs will find them and bring them back.

Whether they like it or not.

❤💛💚💙💜❤

Some pictures of Amber/Pyro

Click for better quality

(I'm working on hair consistency/length lmao)

~💜~

~💜~

[paullassiterca]

Study: Microplastics Were in the Gut of Every Sea Turtle Tested

Every year, anywhere from 5 million to 12 million tons of plastic debris enter waterways worldwide, which equates to an estimated 5 trillion pieces of plastic.1 While some of this plastic is in the form of large debris like plastic bottles, six-pack rings and bags, much of it is in the form of tiny particles known as microplastics, which are less than 5 millimeters (mm) in size.

Microplastics can come from direct or “primary” sources, such as microbeads used in cosmetics or fibers used in clothing. They can also be secondary microplastics, meaning they’re the result of larger plastic items that have disintegrated due to exposure to waves, salt water, ultraviolet radiation and physical abrasion against shorelines.

Microplastics do not, unfortunately, simply disappear into the water. Their prevalence and abundance has made them one of the worst polluters in the oceans, with a variety of marine life ingesting the particles, either by intention or happenstance.

Sea Turtles Are Ingesting Microplastics

Research published in Global Change Biology revealed that microplastics are ubiquitous in sea turtles.2 Every turtle tested, which included 102 turtles from all seven marine turtle species from three ocean basins (Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific), contained the plastics, at varying levels.

Most abundant were plastic microfibers (most often blue or black in color), but fragments and microbeads were also detected, albeit in lesser quantities. Microfibers come from many sources, including shedding from synthetic fabrics, wear from automotive tires and degradation of cigarette filters and fishing nets and ropes.

Once in the water, turtles may be exposed via contaminated sea water and sediments. In the latter case, many sea turtles are known to feed along the ocean bottom, stirring up and ingesting sediment along with their prey.

They may also be exposed directly via their dietary sources. Microplastics can bind to seaweed electrostatically, for instance, while sponges, another turtle delicacy, also ingest microplastics.

In all, more than 800 particles were found by the researchers,3 but because the featured study only tested a small sample of the turtles’ gut content residue, it’s believed that their findings represent only minimum exposure levels to plastics.

“The total number of synthetic particles within the whole gut is likely to be the order of 20 times higher,” the researchers explained. “This suggests that the total levels of ingestion per individual (whole gut) may be higher in marine turtles than large marine mammals.”4

While microplastics don’t pose a risk of internal blockage the way larger plastics do, it’s likely that they affect marine animals on a more subtle, put potentially equally harmful, level. Microplastics may act like sponges for contaminants including heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or pathogens, for instance, or could cause harm on a cellular or subcellular level, the study noted.

Sea Turtle Hatchlings Threatened by Microplastics

While the Global Change Biology study authors did not believe microplastics would pose as grave a risk to sea turtles as ingestion of larger plastic debris, this may not be the case for post-hatchling sea turtles.

“They’re pretty nondiscriminatory with what they’re eating at this life stage. They eat whatever floats past them,” Samantha Clark, a veterinary technician at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) in Juno Beach, Florida, said in a news release.5 Clark cowrote a study that involved 96 post-hatchling sea turtles collected from the Atlantic coastline in Florida.6

Forty-five of the turtles were able to be rehabilitated and released, but 52 of the turtles died, allowing the researchers to analyze their gastrointestinal tracts, most of which contained visible pieces of plastic. Microplastics, larger mesoparticle plastics and even smaller nanoparticles were found in the turtles, with polyethylene and polypropylene the most common types of plastic detected.

“[I]ngestion of micronizing plastic by post-hatchling sea turtles is likely a substantial risk to survival of these endangered and threatened species,” the study concluded, with study coauthor Dr. Charles Manire, director of research and rehabilitation at LMC, adding, “It’s not a question of if they have it, it’s how much they have.”

He told global conservation news service Mongabay, “Twenty-five years ago we would occasionally see a little bit of plastic in some of the smallest turtles,” said Manire. “Now, essentially, 100 percent of them have it … Sea turtles tell us the health of the ocean. The ocean tells us the health of the planet.”7

Filter Feeders Also at Risk

Other marine life, including filter-feeding sharks, rays and baleen whales, are also being negatively affected by microplastics. Animals like these may swallow thousands of cubic meters of water daily in order to capture enough plankton to survive, and with it they’re exposed to whatever else may be lurking in the water.

Not only do filter feeders live in some of the most polluted waters on the planet, but their numbers are already threatened. Half of the species of mobulid rays, along with two-thirds of filter-feeding shark species and more than one-quarter of baleen whale species are listed as threatened species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).8

“Emerging research on these flagship species highlights potential exposure to microplastic contamination and plastic-associated toxins,” according to a study in Trends in Ecology & Evolution.9 Study author Elitza Germanov, researcher at the Marine Megafauna Foundation, told Phys.org:10

“Despite the growing research on microplastics in the marine environment, there are only few studies that examine the effects on large filter feeders. We are still trying to understand the magnitude of the issue.

It has become clear though that microplastic contamination has the potential to further reduce the population numbers of these species, many of which are long-lived and have few offspring throughout their lives.“

Are You Eating ‘Plastic’ Fish?

The Center for Biological Diversity noted that fish in the North Pacific are known to ingest 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic every year, and, in a study of fish markets in California and Indonesia, one-quarter of the fish were found to have plastics in their guts.11

Plastics and other man-made debris was also found in 33 percent of shellfish sampled.12 What this means is that when you sit down to a seafood dinner, you’re probably eating plastic.

Writing in the journal Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, researchers noted, “The potential for humans, as top predators, to consume microplastics as contaminants in seafood is very real, and its implications for health need to be considered.”13

The fact is, fish aren’t eating microplastic only by mistake. The particles develop a biological covering of algae and other organic materials while they’re floating in the ocean. And that film makes them smell like food to marine life.

Anchovies, for instance, use odors to forage, and the smell of microplastic entices the fish to eat. Study author Matthew Savoca, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Guardian:14

“When plastic floats at sea its surface gets colonized by algae within days or weeks, a process known as biofouling. Previous research has shown that this algae produces and emits DMS, an algal based compound that certain marine animals use to find food.

[The research shows] plastic may be more deceptive to fish than previously thought. If plastic both looks and smells like food, it is more difficult for animals like fish to distinguish it as not food.”

There’s Probably Plastic in Your Sea Salt and Bottled Water, Too

Microplastics, including microfibers, are seemingly everywhere. For instance, they were also found to be the predominant type of microplastic found in beer, tap water and sea salt samples.

“Based on consumer guidelines, our results indicate the average person ingests over 5,800 particles of synthetic debris from these three sources annually, with the largest contribution coming from tap water (88 percent),” according to researchers in PLOS One.15

Another study revealed the average person may swallow an estimated 68,415 plastic fibers every year just from contaminated dust landing on their plate during meals.16 This is a much larger source of exposure than plastics from seafood such as shellfish, those researchers noted, stating, “The risk of plastic ingestion via mussel consumption is minimal when compared to fiber exposure during a meal via dust fallout in a household.”17

Other sources of microplastics that you probably come across daily include sea salt, as 90 percent of sea salt sold worldwide contains plastic microparticles; it’s estimated that people consume nearly 2,000 such particles a year in their sea salt alone.18 More than 90 percent of popular bottled water brands sampled also contained microplastics, which in some cases may be coming from the packaging and bottling process itself.19

That being said, 94 percent of U.S. tap water samples were also found to contain plastic,20 with microfibers again representing a major part of the problem. Even sewage sludge, which is applied as a fertilizer in industrial agriculture, is loaded with microfibers,21 which were found to cause changes in the soil, including altering the bulk density, water-holding capacity and microbial activity.

Are You Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?

The magnitude of plastic used worldwide daily is mind-boggling, but you can make a dent by becoming conscious of the plastic you’re using daily — and cut back where you can. Some steps are easy, like swapping plastic bags, bottles, straws, utensils and food containers for more durable, reusable options.

Other steps may take more thought, like reconsidering what types of clothes to buy. A synthetic jacket (such as a fleece) may release up to 2.7 grams (0.095 ounces) of microfibers with each washing (that’s up to 250,000 microfibers). On average, such a garment releases 1.7 grams of microfibers, although older jackets released fibers at twice the rate.22

So one thing you can do to curb plastics pollution is to wash your fleece and microfiber clothing less often, and when you do use a gentle cycle to reduce the number of fibers released. There are also products on the market that catch laundry fibers in your washing machine to help curb pollution.

Special coatings may also help to stop the loss of microfibers during washing, but the apparel industry has been slow to respond in taking steps to stop microfiber pollution.23 You can also consider what your clothing is made out of. In a comparison of acrylic, polyester and a polyester-cotton blend, acrylic was the worst, shedding microfibers up to four times faster than the polyester-cotton blend.24

Ultimately, however, plastic pollution needs to be curbed at its source. Rivers, being a major source of transport of plastic into oceans, should be a major focus of cleanup and prevention efforts. In fact, 95 percent of the riverborne plastic flowing into the ocean comes from just 10 rivers.25

Martin Wagner, an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) department of biology, believes that focusing on removing plastic from the ocean is a shortsighted solution because in order to stop it in the long run, it has to be traced back to its source, which in most cases is land and the rivers that transport it.26

from Articles http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/12/18/microplastic-pollution-harms-sea-turtles.aspx source https://niapurenaturecom.tumblr.com/post/181213797336

[jerrytackettca]

Study: Microplastics Were in the Gut of Every Sea Turtle Tested

Every year, anywhere from 5 million to 12 million tons of plastic debris enter waterways worldwide, which equates to an estimated 5 trillion pieces of plastic.1 While some of this plastic is in the form of large debris like plastic bottles, six-pack rings and bags, much of it is in the form of tiny particles known as microplastics, which are less than 5 millimeters (mm) in size.

Microplastics can come from direct or “primary” sources, such as microbeads used in cosmetics or fibers used in clothing. They can also be secondary microplastics, meaning they’re the result of larger plastic items that have disintegrated due to exposure to waves, salt water, ultraviolet radiation and physical abrasion against shorelines.

Microplastics do not, unfortunately, simply disappear into the water. Their prevalence and abundance has made them one of the worst polluters in the oceans, with a variety of marine life ingesting the particles, either by intention or happenstance.

Sea Turtles Are Ingesting Microplastics

Research published in Global Change Biology revealed that microplastics are ubiquitous in sea turtles.2 Every turtle tested, which included 102 turtles from all seven marine turtle species from three ocean basins (Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific), contained the plastics, at varying levels.

Most abundant were plastic microfibers (most often blue or black in color), but fragments and microbeads were also detected, albeit in lesser quantities. Microfibers come from many sources, including shedding from synthetic fabrics, wear from automotive tires and degradation of cigarette filters and fishing nets and ropes.

Once in the water, turtles may be exposed via contaminated sea water and sediments. In the latter case, many sea turtles are known to feed along the ocean bottom, stirring up and ingesting sediment along with their prey.

They may also be exposed directly via their dietary sources. Microplastics can bind to seaweed electrostatically, for instance, while sponges, another turtle delicacy, also ingest microplastics.

In all, more than 800 particles were found by the researchers,3 but because the featured study only tested a small sample of the turtles’ gut content residue, it’s believed that their findings represent only minimum exposure levels to plastics.

“The total number of synthetic particles within the whole gut is likely to be the order of 20 times higher,” the researchers explained. “This suggests that the total levels of ingestion per individual (whole gut) may be higher in marine turtles than large marine mammals.”4

While microplastics don’t pose a risk of internal blockage the way larger plastics do, it’s likely that they affect marine animals on a more subtle, put potentially equally harmful, level. Microplastics may act like sponges for contaminants including heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or pathogens, for instance, or could cause harm on a cellular or subcellular level, the study noted.

Sea Turtle Hatchlings Threatened by Microplastics

While the Global Change Biology study authors did not believe microplastics would pose as grave a risk to sea turtles as ingestion of larger plastic debris, this may not be the case for post-hatchling sea turtles.

“They’re pretty nondiscriminatory with what they’re eating at this life stage. They eat whatever floats past them,” Samantha Clark, a veterinary technician at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) in Juno Beach, Florida, said in a news release.5 Clark cowrote a study that involved 96 post-hatchling sea turtles collected from the Atlantic coastline in Florida.6

Forty-five of the turtles were able to be rehabilitated and released, but 52 of the turtles died, allowing the researchers to analyze their gastrointestinal tracts, most of which contained visible pieces of plastic. Microplastics, larger mesoparticle plastics and even smaller nanoparticles were found in the turtles, with polyethylene and polypropylene the most common types of plastic detected.

“[I]ngestion of micronizing plastic by post-hatchling sea turtles is likely a substantial risk to survival of these endangered and threatened species,” the study concluded, with study coauthor Dr. Charles Manire, director of research and rehabilitation at LMC, adding, “It’s not a question of if they have it, it’s how much they have.”

He told global conservation news service Mongabay, “Twenty-five years ago we would occasionally see a little bit of plastic in some of the smallest turtles,” said Manire. “Now, essentially, 100 percent of them have it … Sea turtles tell us the health of the ocean. The ocean tells us the health of the planet.”7

Filter Feeders Also at Risk

Other marine life, including filter-feeding sharks, rays and baleen whales, are also being negatively affected by microplastics. Animals like these may swallow thousands of cubic meters of water daily in order to capture enough plankton to survive, and with it they’re exposed to whatever else may be lurking in the water.

Not only do filter feeders live in some of the most polluted waters on the planet, but their numbers are already threatened. Half of the species of mobulid rays, along with two-thirds of filter-feeding shark species and more than one-quarter of baleen whale species are listed as threatened species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).8

“Emerging research on these flagship species highlights potential exposure to microplastic contamination and plastic-associated toxins,” according to a study in Trends in Ecology & Evolution.9 Study author Elitza Germanov, researcher at the Marine Megafauna Foundation, told Phys.org:10

“Despite the growing research on microplastics in the marine environment, there are only few studies that examine the effects on large filter feeders. We are still trying to understand the magnitude of the issue.

It has become clear though that microplastic contamination has the potential to further reduce the population numbers of these species, many of which are long-lived and have few offspring throughout their lives."

Are You Eating ‘Plastic’ Fish?

The Center for Biological Diversity noted that fish in the North Pacific are known to ingest 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic every year, and, in a study of fish markets in California and Indonesia, one-quarter of the fish were found to have plastics in their guts.11

Plastics and other man-made debris was also found in 33 percent of shellfish sampled.12 What this means is that when you sit down to a seafood dinner, you’re probably eating plastic.

Writing in the journal Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, researchers noted, “The potential for humans, as top predators, to consume microplastics as contaminants in seafood is very real, and its implications for health need to be considered.”13

The fact is, fish aren’t eating microplastic only by mistake. The particles develop a biological covering of algae and other organic materials while they’re floating in the ocean. And that film makes them smell like food to marine life.

Anchovies, for instance, use odors to forage, and the smell of microplastic entices the fish to eat. Study author Matthew Savoca, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Guardian:14

“When plastic floats at sea its surface gets colonized by algae within days or weeks, a process known as biofouling. Previous research has shown that this algae produces and emits DMS, an algal based compound that certain marine animals use to find food.

[The research shows] plastic may be more deceptive to fish than previously thought. If plastic both looks and smells like food, it is more difficult for animals like fish to distinguish it as not food.”

There’s Probably Plastic in Your Sea Salt and Bottled Water, Too

Microplastics, including microfibers, are seemingly everywhere. For instance, they were also found to be the predominant type of microplastic found in beer, tap water and sea salt samples.

“Based on consumer guidelines, our results indicate the average person ingests over 5,800 particles of synthetic debris from these three sources annually, with the largest contribution coming from tap water (88 percent),” according to researchers in PLOS One.15

Another study revealed the average person may swallow an estimated 68,415 plastic fibers every year just from contaminated dust landing on their plate during meals.16 This is a much larger source of exposure than plastics from seafood such as shellfish, those researchers noted, stating, “The risk of plastic ingestion via mussel consumption is minimal when compared to fiber exposure during a meal via dust fallout in a household.”17

Other sources of microplastics that you probably come across daily include sea salt, as 90 percent of sea salt sold worldwide contains plastic microparticles; it’s estimated that people consume nearly 2,000 such particles a year in their sea salt alone.18 More than 90 percent of popular bottled water brands sampled also contained microplastics, which in some cases may be coming from the packaging and bottling process itself.19

That being said, 94 percent of U.S. tap water samples were also found to contain plastic,20 with microfibers again representing a major part of the problem. Even sewage sludge, which is applied as a fertilizer in industrial agriculture, is loaded with microfibers,21 which were found to cause changes in the soil, including altering the bulk density, water-holding capacity and microbial activity.

Are You Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?

The magnitude of plastic used worldwide daily is mind-boggling, but you can make a dent by becoming conscious of the plastic you’re using daily — and cut back where you can. Some steps are easy, like swapping plastic bags, bottles, straws, utensils and food containers for more durable, reusable options.

Other steps may take more thought, like reconsidering what types of clothes to buy. A synthetic jacket (such as a fleece) may release up to 2.7 grams (0.095 ounces) of microfibers with each washing (that’s up to 250,000 microfibers). On average, such a garment releases 1.7 grams of microfibers, although older jackets released fibers at twice the rate.22

So one thing you can do to curb plastics pollution is to wash your fleece and microfiber clothing less often, and when you do use a gentle cycle to reduce the number of fibers released. There are also products on the market that catch laundry fibers in your washing machine to help curb pollution.

Special coatings may also help to stop the loss of microfibers during washing, but the apparel industry has been slow to respond in taking steps to stop microfiber pollution.23 You can also consider what your clothing is made out of. In a comparison of acrylic, polyester and a polyester-cotton blend, acrylic was the worst, shedding microfibers up to four times faster than the polyester-cotton blend.24

Ultimately, however, plastic pollution needs to be curbed at its source. Rivers, being a major source of transport of plastic into oceans, should be a major focus of cleanup and prevention efforts. In fact, 95 percent of the riverborne plastic flowing into the ocean comes from just 10 rivers.25

Martin Wagner, an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) department of biology, believes that focusing on removing plastic from the ocean is a shortsighted solution because in order to stop it in the long run, it has to be traced back to its source, which in most cases is land and the rivers that transport it.26

from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/12/18/microplastic-pollution-harms-sea-turtles.aspx

source http://niapurenaturecom.weebly.com/blog/study-microplastics-were-in-the-gut-of-every-sea-turtle-tested

[jakehglover]

Study: Microplastics Were in the Gut of Every Sea Turtle Tested

Every year, anywhere from 5 million to 12 million tons of plastic debris enter waterways worldwide, which equates to an estimated 5 trillion pieces of plastic.1 While some of this plastic is in the form of large debris like plastic bottles, six-pack rings and bags, much of it is in the form of tiny particles known as microplastics, which are less than 5 millimeters (mm) in size.

Microplastics can come from direct or “primary” sources, such as microbeads used in cosmetics or fibers used in clothing. They can also be secondary microplastics, meaning they’re the result of larger plastic items that have disintegrated due to exposure to waves, salt water, ultraviolet radiation and physical abrasion against shorelines.

Microplastics do not, unfortunately, simply disappear into the water. Their prevalence and abundance has made them one of the worst polluters in the oceans, with a variety of marine life ingesting the particles, either by intention or happenstance.

Sea Turtles Are Ingesting Microplastics

Research published in Global Change Biology revealed that microplastics are ubiquitous in sea turtles.2 Every turtle tested, which included 102 turtles from all seven marine turtle species from three ocean basins (Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific), contained the plastics, at varying levels.

Most abundant were plastic microfibers (most often blue or black in color), but fragments and microbeads were also detected, albeit in lesser quantities. Microfibers come from many sources, including shedding from synthetic fabrics, wear from automotive tires and degradation of cigarette filters and fishing nets and ropes.

Once in the water, turtles may be exposed via contaminated sea water and sediments. In the latter case, many sea turtles are known to feed along the ocean bottom, stirring up and ingesting sediment along with their prey.

They may also be exposed directly via their dietary sources. Microplastics can bind to seaweed electrostatically, for instance, while sponges, another turtle delicacy, also ingest microplastics.

In all, more than 800 particles were found by the researchers,3 but because the featured study only tested a small sample of the turtles’ gut content residue, it’s believed that their findings represent only minimum exposure levels to plastics.

“The total number of synthetic particles within the whole gut is likely to be the order of 20 times higher,” the researchers explained. “This suggests that the total levels of ingestion per individual (whole gut) may be higher in marine turtles than large marine mammals.”4

While microplastics don’t pose a risk of internal blockage the way larger plastics do, it’s likely that they affect marine animals on a more subtle, put potentially equally harmful, level. Microplastics may act like sponges for contaminants including heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or pathogens, for instance, or could cause harm on a cellular or subcellular level, the study noted.

Sea Turtle Hatchlings Threatened by Microplastics

While the Global Change Biology study authors did not believe microplastics would pose as grave a risk to sea turtles as ingestion of larger plastic debris, this may not be the case for post-hatchling sea turtles.

“They’re pretty nondiscriminatory with what they’re eating at this life stage. They eat whatever floats past them,” Samantha Clark, a veterinary technician at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) in Juno Beach, Florida, said in a news release.5 Clark cowrote a study that involved 96 post-hatchling sea turtles collected from the Atlantic coastline in Florida.6

Forty-five of the turtles were able to be rehabilitated and released, but 52 of the turtles died, allowing the researchers to analyze their gastrointestinal tracts, most of which contained visible pieces of plastic. Microplastics, larger mesoparticle plastics and even smaller nanoparticles were found in the turtles, with polyethylene and polypropylene the most common types of plastic detected.

“[I]ngestion of micronizing plastic by post-hatchling sea turtles is likely a substantial risk to survival of these endangered and threatened species,” the study concluded, with study coauthor Dr. Charles Manire, director of research and rehabilitation at LMC, adding, “It’s not a question of if they have it, it’s how much they have.”

He told global conservation news service Mongabay, “Twenty-five years ago we would occasionally see a little bit of plastic in some of the smallest turtles,” said Manire. “Now, essentially, 100 percent of them have it … Sea turtles tell us the health of the ocean. The ocean tells us the health of the planet.”7

Filter Feeders Also at Risk

Other marine life, including filter-feeding sharks, rays and baleen whales, are also being negatively affected by microplastics. Animals like these may swallow thousands of cubic meters of water daily in order to capture enough plankton to survive, and with it they’re exposed to whatever else may be lurking in the water.

Not only do filter feeders live in some of the most polluted waters on the planet, but their numbers are already threatened. Half of the species of mobulid rays, along with two-thirds of filter-feeding shark species and more than one-quarter of baleen whale species are listed as threatened species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).8

“Emerging research on these flagship species highlights potential exposure to microplastic contamination and plastic-associated toxins,” according to a study in Trends in Ecology & Evolution.9 Study author Elitza Germanov, researcher at the Marine Megafauna Foundation, told Phys.org:10

“Despite the growing research on microplastics in the marine environment, there are only few studies that examine the effects on large filter feeders. We are still trying to understand the magnitude of the issue.

It has become clear though that microplastic contamination has the potential to further reduce the population numbers of these species, many of which are long-lived and have few offspring throughout their lives."

Are You Eating ‘Plastic’ Fish?

The Center for Biological Diversity noted that fish in the North Pacific are known to ingest 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic every year, and, in a study of fish markets in California and Indonesia, one-quarter of the fish were found to have plastics in their guts.11

Plastics and other man-made debris was also found in 33 percent of shellfish sampled.12 What this means is that when you sit down to a seafood dinner, you’re probably eating plastic.

Writing in the journal Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, researchers noted, “The potential for humans, as top predators, to consume microplastics as contaminants in seafood is very real, and its implications for health need to be considered.”13

The fact is, fish aren’t eating microplastic only by mistake. The particles develop a biological covering of algae and other organic materials while they’re floating in the ocean. And that film makes them smell like food to marine life.

Anchovies, for instance, use odors to forage, and the smell of microplastic entices the fish to eat. Study author Matthew Savoca, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Guardian:14

“When plastic floats at sea its surface gets colonized by algae within days or weeks, a process known as biofouling. Previous research has shown that this algae produces and emits DMS, an algal based compound that certain marine animals use to find food.

[The research shows] plastic may be more deceptive to fish than previously thought. If plastic both looks and smells like food, it is more difficult for animals like fish to distinguish it as not food.”

There’s Probably Plastic in Your Sea Salt and Bottled Water, Too

Microplastics, including microfibers, are seemingly everywhere. For instance, they were also found to be the predominant type of microplastic found in beer, tap water and sea salt samples.

“Based on consumer guidelines, our results indicate the average person ingests over 5,800 particles of synthetic debris from these three sources annually, with the largest contribution coming from tap water (88 percent),” according to researchers in PLOS One.15

Another study revealed the average person may swallow an estimated 68,415 plastic fibers every year just from contaminated dust landing on their plate during meals.16 This is a much larger source of exposure than plastics from seafood such as shellfish, those researchers noted, stating, “The risk of plastic ingestion via mussel consumption is minimal when compared to fiber exposure during a meal via dust fallout in a household.”17

Other sources of microplastics that you probably come across daily include sea salt, as 90 percent of sea salt sold worldwide contains plastic microparticles; it’s estimated that people consume nearly 2,000 such particles a year in their sea salt alone.18 More than 90 percent of popular bottled water brands sampled also contained microplastics, which in some cases may be coming from the packaging and bottling process itself.19

That being said, 94 percent of U.S. tap water samples were also found to contain plastic,20 with microfibers again representing a major part of the problem. Even sewage sludge, which is applied as a fertilizer in industrial agriculture, is loaded with microfibers,21 which were found to cause changes in the soil, including altering the bulk density, water-holding capacity and microbial activity.

Are You Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?

The magnitude of plastic used worldwide daily is mind-boggling, but you can make a dent by becoming conscious of the plastic you’re using daily — and cut back where you can. Some steps are easy, like swapping plastic bags, bottles, straws, utensils and food containers for more durable, reusable options.

Other steps may take more thought, like reconsidering what types of clothes to buy. A synthetic jacket (such as a fleece) may release up to 2.7 grams (0.095 ounces) of microfibers with each washing (that’s up to 250,000 microfibers). On average, such a garment releases 1.7 grams of microfibers, although older jackets released fibers at twice the rate.22

So one thing you can do to curb plastics pollution is to wash your fleece and microfiber clothing less often, and when you do use a gentle cycle to reduce the number of fibers released. There are also products on the market that catch laundry fibers in your washing machine to help curb pollution.

Special coatings may also help to stop the loss of microfibers during washing, but the apparel industry has been slow to respond in taking steps to stop microfiber pollution.23 You can also consider what your clothing is made out of. In a comparison of acrylic, polyester and a polyester-cotton blend, acrylic was the worst, shedding microfibers up to four times faster than the polyester-cotton blend.24

Ultimately, however, plastic pollution needs to be curbed at its source. Rivers, being a major source of transport of plastic into oceans, should be a major focus of cleanup and prevention efforts. In fact, 95 percent of the riverborne plastic flowing into the ocean comes from just 10 rivers.25

Martin Wagner, an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) department of biology, believes that focusing on removing plastic from the ocean is a shortsighted solution because in order to stop it in the long run, it has to be traced back to its source, which in most cases is land and the rivers that transport it.26

from HealthyLife via Jake Glover on Inoreader http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/12/18/microplastic-pollution-harms-sea-turtles.aspx