Most sea turtles, whales and fish may have plastic in their bodies. To determine the various forms and colors of this material in marine animals, Marga Rivas at the University of Almeria in Spain and her team analyzed data from 112 studies published in the past decade. These looked for microplastics and larger macro plastics in marine species globally.
Of the studies, 80 examined the gastrointestinal tracts (胃肠道)of animals to see what they had taken in. The others also looked at wider animal tissues to identify plastics that end up in other parts of the body. After examining all of the data, Rivas and her team concluded that 66 per cent of sea turtles have white-colored macro and microplastics in their systems, while 55 percent have a distinct class of plastic called microfibers, which are shed by some fabrics (织物). The high amount of white plastic in turtles was unsurprising, says Rivas, given that plastic of this color, particularly larger pieces, may resemble jellyfish, a large part of the animals' diets.
Microfibers were also present in 80 percent of whales and dolphins - and white macro and microplastics in 38 percent of them. The researchers also concluded that clear fiber microplastics are probably the most common form of this waste that is taken in by large marine animals globally. Rivas and her colleagues also discovered that the animals with the highest rates of plastic were those in the Mediterranean and the northeast Indian Ocean.
“The Mediterranean is the most contaminated sea in the world, so we expected to find these results,” says Rivas. Marine plastic pollution has increased roughly 10-fbld since 1980, and Rivas says the problem is worsened by inadequate water treatment systems. In parts of India and the southeast Mediterranean, waste water isn’t adequately treated or recycled, she says. This means that microfibers shed by fabrics in washing machines, and larger pieces of rubbish, enter the sea. “It’s possible to introduce management strategies to control these huge threats,” says Rivas.
8. How did Rivas and her team conduct the study?
A.By doing comparative experiments. |
B.By analyzing data from previous studies. |
C.By determining the forms and colors of plastics. |
D.By looking for plastics in global marine animals. |
9. Why was it unsurprising to find a large amount of white plastic in sea turtles?
A.White plastic looks like the food sea turtles consume. |
B.More while plastic was in the sea than that of other colors. |
C.White plastic is the most common form of the plastic waste. |
D.White microfibers from fabrics were abundant in the oceans. |
10. What does the underlined word “contaminated” probably mean in the last paragraph?
A.Researched | B.Conserved | C.Examined | D.Polluted |
11. In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?
A.Health. | B.Lifestyle. | C.Science. | D.Education. |