海洋微塑料来源、分布及生态效应研究进展

微塑料广泛分布于世界范围内的大洋和近海海域。作为新兴的污染物,微塑料对海洋生态环境威胁巨大。微塑料可以直接或间接被海洋动物摄入,导致其生长减缓或停滞、繁殖被抑制、寿命减短、进食量降低、耗氧量以及酶活性改变。微塑料与海洋浮游植物相互作用会对其生长、光合作用、氧化应激能力等产生影响。然而,微塑料对海洋浮游植物的致毒机理尚未完全明朗,还需更多的相关研究以探明其毒性效应机制。为保护海洋环境安全,更好的治理微塑料污染问题,有必要加强微塑料的相关研究,同时采取一系列有力的政策法规来监管塑料及微塑料的使用。

Research progress in sources, distributions, and ecological effects of marine microplastics

Microplastics have been detected in both ocean waters including the coastal areas and are widely distributed in the oceans around the world. As new pollutants, microplastics are a grave threat to the marine ecological environment. They can be directly or indirectly ingested by marine animals, resulting in growth inhibition, feeding decrease, reduced lifespan, and survival and fecundity reduction. They also influence the growth, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic efficiency, and oxidative stress of marine phytoplankton. However, their impacts on phytoplankton are not totally clear, and thus, more relevant studies are needed to explore their toxic mechanisms. To protect the marine environment and control the pollution of microplastics, it is necessary to strengthen the relevant research on microplastics and adopt strong policy and regulatory measures to prohibit plastic discharge.