Growing Menace of Microplastics in and Around the Coastal Ecosystem

Abstract

AbstractMicroplastics have emerged as a major threat for the aquatic ecosystems in recent decades. They have been a great danger to the coastal ecosystems where they pose serious harmful effects on the water quality, fishes, dolphins, crabs, planktons, and other benthic organisms. Urbanization and industrialization have brought with them a deteriorating impact on the environment. Such harmful impacts are very much visible in various forms like air pollution, water pollution, toxic chemicals, waste generation and management issues, and degradation of land. Among many such cases, plastic pollution in general and microplastics in particular is the one among many. According to sizes, plastics are grouped as macroplastics and microplastics. The difference is because of size difference of fragments. Microplastics are generally less than 5 mm, and above this are the macroplastics. They are widely spread across the marine ecosystems. They have become part of the system. They pose many dangers to marine biodiversity because whatever be the source and site of their generation, they are carried away with rivers, streams, and floodwaters to oceans. Seas and oceans are their final destination, where they remain in the form of debris and contaminate the water quality and affect marine biodiversity as well. Often, the fishes, whales, and other sea animals eat plastics considering them to be their food. Microplastics are chemical formulation. When ingested by sea animals, they suffer from many health issues. Many times, they die out of suffocation. As far as microplastics are concerned, they remain suspended in the water because of their minimal size, which ultimately hinders the marine animals’ various life processes—problems related to the coastal regions and their great significance in the overall ecology. This chapter is designed to focus on the spread of microplastics’ menace across the globe and the ill effects caused by it on marine life and overall system, the challenges involved in tackling such a situation, and possible recommendations.KeywordsCoastal ecosystemsHarmful impactsMicroplasticsUrbanizationWaste management