# Microplastic Pollution: Chemical Characterization and Impact on Wildlife
## 4 Conclusions & Future Research
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Species Affected** & **Key Results** & **Reference** \\ \hline Oncorhynchus mykiss Rainbow trout, _Sparns aurata_ & 50–63\% of fish have MPs in gastrointestinal tract & [71] \\ Cifthead seabream _Limnaeus_, and _Diactimurchus labrax_ & \textgreater{}80\% fibers of polyethylene, polyester, polyamide & [72] \\ \hline Marine Coperpod & & \\ (_Tigeripras jippinas_) & decrease in fecundity in Coperpod was observed & [73] \\ \hline Various wild-caught fish & 35.5\% of fish had at least one piece of microplastic in their gastrointestinal tract. South Australia had the highest percentage of fish with plastic (49\%) & [74] \\  & and Tasmania the lowest (20\%). Mostly polyolefin & \\ \hline Zebrafish & Total food intake was reduced by 64.3-69.6\% after exposure to MPs & [75] \\ \hline Mussels & Mussels exposed to MPs bioaccumulated many PAHs & [76] \\ \hline _Amphictropus fungiao_ & Markers of oxidative stress were affected by exposure to MPs & [77] \\ \hline Zebrafish & 300–500 MP items found in liver–dose dependent, presence of MP affects & [78] \\  & absorption of chlorpyrofits & \\ \hline Shellfish & protozoan parasites were incubated with microplastic particles. Parasites & [79] \\  & accumulated on the surfaces of microplastics over time. & [80] \\ \hline Flounders, cod, seabirds, otters, and seal & MPs present in liver, muscle, and intestines–in 2/3 of cod. Seven of the eight animals had MP in their intestines or stomach walls. & [81] \\ \hline Fish larvae (_Cyprimus carpii_) & Larvae treated with 45.55 & 9, 91.1 g., and 136.65 g of microplastics per liter of water, indicators of oxidative chemistry affected & [82] \\ \hline Barn owl (_Tylota alba_) & Found 33\% diet pellets were containing MPs, mainly microfibers (88.2\%) & [83] \\ \hline Chicken embryos & Polystyrene particles at 1–1000 mg per liter of water administered to & [84] \\ \hline Quasi & \begin{tabular}{c} Fed MPs for 9 days and displayed significant reduction in body biomass in \\ (_Caturmic Caturmica japonica_) \\ \end{tabular} & the MP-ingested group and total reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in muscle and liver in a past higher & [85] \\ \hline Shearwaters & \begin{tabular}{c} Found significant effects of inflammation in inferior regions of the \\ (_Andeman carpiieps_) \\ \end{tabular} & [86] \\ \hline Little-black cormorant (_Pulaxrocar suicnstris_) & \begin{tabular}{c} MPs found were mostly films (75\%), followed by filter (18.75\%), and \\ fragments (6.3\%) in type. Sizes of the microplastic was mostly (68.7\%) \\ between 100–1000 micrometer major dimension. The color of the \\ microplastics found were transparent (65.2\%), followed by red (18.7\%), \\ black (12.5\%), yellow, and blue (62.7\%) each. \\ \end{tabular} & [87] \\ \hline Arctic Glaucous gull (_Larus hypernons_) & Authors found microplastics occurred in 14.3\% of the birds’ intestines. MPs & [87] \\ \hline Blackbinds and Song Thrushes & No seasonal differences or age-related differences in microplastic ingestion either species was observed. & [88] \\ \hline Chickens & Interaction between gut microbiota and metabolites may be one of the & [89] \\ \hline Mice & \
\begin{tabular}{c} MP exposure was found to aggravate asthma symptoms by increasing, \\ mucus production and inflammatory cell infiltration, as well as altering the \\ expression of genes involved in programmed cell death, cellular stress \\ response \\ \end{tabular} & [81] \\ \hline Swine &
\begin{tabular}{c} Polyamide (PA) was found to be the most common polymer in domestic pig \\ lungs (46\%), while polycarbinate (PC) was found to be the most common \\ polymer in fetal pig lungs (33\%). The presence of MPs was confirmed in the \\ lung tissue of both domestic and fetal pigs \\ \end{tabular} & [80] \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Summary of studies involving MPs and wildlife. Recent work has begun to consider and identify the main routes of human and animal exposure to microplastics, sources of microplastics, their shapes, and common compositions.