Table 3: Effects of plastic wastes on animals and their mechanism(s) of action.
Species | Specie variant | Plastic type | Effects |
Sea Bird | Greater Shearwater | Plastic bottle cap | Starvation due to gastrointestinal obstruction |
Magellanic penguin | Fragments, line and straws | Stomach perforation | |
Sea Turtles | Green sea turtles | Plastic bags and other debris | Impediment of hatchling movement towards the sea, exposure to predators |
Leatherback turtle | Plastic bags and debris | Blocked and injures cloaca, impedes laying of eggs | |
Fish | Bigeye tuna | Fragment line | Ingestion of plastic fragments |
Japanese medaka | Particulate plastic | Hepatic stress from exposure to plastic pollutant | |
Orchid dottyback | Plastic bags | Leached nonophenol additives caused mortality | |
Larva Perch | Microplastic particles | Inhibited hatching, decreased growth rate and altered behavior | |
Mammals | Fur seal | Plastic particles | Bioaccumulation of particulate plastic from prey fish |
Sperm Whale | Plastic bags and debris | Stomach rupture and starvation | |
Australia Sea lion | Plastic fishing gear | Entanglement caused mortality | |
Invertebrates | Urchin larva | Polyethylene pellets | Plastic leachates caused abdominal development |
Mussels | Microplastic particles | Accumulation of microplastic in circulatory system | |
Oyster | Microplastic particles | Interference with energy uptake and reproduction | |
Norway lobster | Plastic strands and particles | Ingestion and accumulation of plastics in the gut |
Source: Worm, et al. [15].