Plastic Pollution: Biological Environment

Name Course Instructor Date Annotated Bibliography: Plastic Pollution Plastic pollution entails the accumulation of plastic products whether used or unused to the environment that has adverse effects on the marine life, soil, and the biological environment. Living organisms especially those living in water when ingesting these plastics and its contents such as chemicals may cause them death. Soil microbial activities are barricaded, chemicals introduced in the soil may cause the soil to be more alkaline or acidic hence making the soil unproductive for agricultural produce. Plastics are of a distinct group made up of compounds derived from petroleum known as petrochemicals. Its production has increased globally, yet very small amounts are recycled. This is the main reason as to why plastic pollution is a common problem both on land, water, and air. Reisser J, Shaw J, Wilcox C, Hardesty BD, Proietti M, Thums M, et al. Marine Plastic Pollution in Waters around Australia: Characteristics, Concentrations, and Pathways. PLoS ONE 8(11): e80466, 2013. <https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0080466> The article notes the process by which marine plastic pollution happens. The authors reveal that the process of plastic pollution happens when plastic particles are either deposited on land causing land pollution. According to the authors, marine plastic pollution happens when plastics are disposed into the open environment; they are carried into the marine environment through various ways for instance through storm drains, wind and even flooding. At the point, the plastics can either float at the surface of the sea or ocean or even sink to the seabed depending on the density of the polymers they are made from. The article further elaborates that lightweight plastics may be deposited towards the shore by the onshore winds or may be in the same way entering the ocean hence piling in the convergence zones. Additionally, the article expounds that plastic particle find themselves into water bodies due to the fact that most of the plastic products are manufactured in small sizes. The authors expound that the water bodies have microplastics which have undergone the process of disintegration to form smaller particles by the mechanical or biological process. The article is relevant since it mentions the adverse effects of the plastic pollution on both marine vertebrates and marine birds. It explains the way marine water is polluted by the plastic debris which then affects aquatic animals. The article is relevant for my research because it explains the degree to which plastic pollution is dangerous to both aquatic and terrestrial life. Abduall, Jalil & Mian Nannu. "Using plastic bags and its damaging impacts on environment and Agriculture." International Conference on Sustainable Development, 2011. In the article, the authors mainly focused on the damaging impact of plastic bags on the environment and agriculture. When plastic bags are disposed of without care of recycling, they ultimately find a way into agricultural fields whereby they are mixed with the soil through other decomposed materials. This debris does not decompose in the soil thereby remaining as obstacles. Such materials cause growth retardation of agricultural plants. The author further illustrates how plastic bags become a hindrance to the roots of plants in the soil. They have innate properties that block the roots of plants to break through them in search of nutrients. The author posits that it takes a great deal of time for plastic bags to decompose, approximately not less than 1000 years. This hinders the degradation of materials around and within it. In such a scenario, the soil losses its fertility property causing plants to look emaciated because agricultural plants can rarely survive on plastic bags. This is as a result of the inherent nature of the plastic bags. There is also reduced nitrogen fixation, the great ruin of soil and its nutrients causing an imbalance in the nutrients in the soil that is affected. Consequently, both plants and animals are affected. The article is significant and relevant to my research because it gives knowledge on the negative effects of plastic bags on the soil that is used for agriculture. Kara Lavender Law. "Plastic in the Marine Environment." Annual Review Journal of Marine Science (2017): 205-229. The author illustrates various effects of plastic debris on the marine ecosystem. These include obstruction by the plastic debris which may lead to severe injuries, drowning or snaring; Consumption of the fragments causes difficulties in the gut, or physical injury, damaging of the gills in fish and those on the seabed providing shelter for the microscopic animals. When large debris of plastics is ingested, they reduce the storage capacity of the stomach and therefore they impact negatively the organism involved. The health of living organisms deteriorates due to the fact that when organisms ingest plastic bags, the effective functioning of the enzymes is barricaded. Also, the ingested debris causes internal injuries for instance ulcerative lesions, perforated gut and gastric rupture which results in death. However, despite the fact that there are a collection of quoted reports recounting specific occasions of debris effects, the author concluded that the general effect of marine garbage was primarily aesthetic. The article is relevant since it outlines the effects of plastic pollution on the living organism especially by hindering proper functioning of the internal organs, leading to death. Faur, Florian, Camille Saini and Francois Galgani. "An evaluation of surface micro- and mesoplastic pollution in pelagic ecosystems of the Western Mediterranean Sea." Sea Environmental Science and Pollution Research 22.16 (2015): 12190-12197. The article talks about the way marine gets polluted through use of plastics. Regarding this issue, the authors disclose that human beings are the main cause of plastic pollution. They dispose plastic products in water bodies and on land. These products are made of chemicals which some of them mixes with water to destroy aquatic life. The study elaborates further that these chemical solutions when they seeps into the soil they hinder the activities of the soil organisms as well as change the pH of the soil. The polluted water not only impacts negatively large organisms but small organisms like worms which as well lose their lives due to chemicals. The study talks about ...