ArticleScientific reports2019
Microplastics in marine mammals stranded around the British coast: ubiquitous but transitory?
Article in Scientific reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed.
- A global ranking of the relative vulnerability of marine mammals to macroplastic pollution.Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology · 2026Article
- Microplastic Munchies: Exploring Microplastic Trophic Transfer Potential Between Two Key Prey Fish Species and Resident Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Marine Mammal Science · 2026Article
- Gut microbiota-GABA axis dysregulation underlies polystyrene microplastic (PS-MP) neurotoxicity in rainbow trout: a role for oxidative stress and blood-brain barrier disruption.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Article
- Review
- Towards more sustainable oceans: A review of the pressing challenges posed by marine plastic litter.Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA · 2025Review
- The wheel of time: The environmental dance of aged micro- and nanoplastics and their biological resonance.Eco-Environment & Health · 2025Review
- Article
- Article
- Taxonomic variation, plastic degradation, and antibiotic resistance traits of plastisphere communities in the maturation pond of a wastewater treatment plant.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2024Article
- Review
- Current species protection does not serve its porpoise-Knowledge gaps on the impact of pressures on the Critically Endangered Baltic Proper harbour porpoise population, and future recommendations for its protection.Ecology and evolution · 2024Review
- Review
- Underwater soundscape in Seaview Bay, Antarctica, and triple ascending trill of the leopard seal (Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Different recovery patterns of the surviving bivalveHeliyon · 2024Article
- Exposure to Environmental Toxins: Potential Implications for Stroke Risk via the Gut- and Lung-Brain Axis.Cells · 2024Review
- Preliminary Study on Microplastic Contamination in Black Sea Cetaceans: Gastrointestinal Analysis ofAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Article
- Microplastics Prevalence in Different Cetaceans Stranded along the Western Taiwan Strait.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Plastic pollution represents a pervasive and increasing threat to marine ecosystems worldwide and there is a need to better understand the extent to which microplastics (<5 mm) are ingested by high trophic-level taxa, such as marine mammals. Here, we perform a comprehensive assessment by examining whole digestive tracts of 50 individuals from 10 species whilst operating strict contamination controls. Microplastics were ubiquitous with particles detected in every animal examined. The relatively low number per animal (mean = 5.5) suggests these particles are transitory. Stomachs, however, were found to contain a greater number than intestines, indicating a potential site of temporary retention. The majority of particles were fibres (84%) while the remaining 16% was fragments. Particles were mainly blue and black (42.5% and 26.4%) in colour and Nylon was the most prevalent (60%) polymer type. A possible relationship was found between the cause of death category and microplastic abundance, indicating that animals that died due to infectious diseases had a slightly higher number of particles than those that died of trauma and other drivers of mortality. It is not possible, however, to draw any firm conclusions on the potential biological significance of this observation and further research is required to better understand the potential chronic effects of microplastic exposure on animal health, particularly as marine mammals are widely considered important sentinels for the implications of pollution for the marine environment.
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