# Microplastic Pollution: Chemical Characterization and Impact on Wildlife
## 3 Microplastics and Wildlife  
### Microplastics in Aquatic Animals  
The pollution of microplastics (MPs) in the marine environment is an emerging threat to aquatic animals. [PERSON] et al. investigated microplastic pollution in commercially im  
Figure 8: Direct comparisons between Raman and FTIR spectra/imaging of microplastics. (**a**) A Raman image (**left**) and an IR image (**right**) with false coloring denoting the spectral intensity in the 2780–2980 cm\({}^{-1}\) range. (**b**) A Raman spectrum (**left**) and an IR transmission spectrum (**right**) of particle 2 in comparison with a reference of polypropylene. (**c**) Images of unknown particles extracted from sediment and scanned via both FTIR and Raman microspectroscopy. (**a**,**b**) reproduced from Ref. [70] with permission from Springer Nature; (**c**) reproduced from Ref. [48] with permission of publisher. portant fish species Oncorhynchus mykiss Rainbow trout, _Sparus aurata_ Gilthead seabream Linnaeus, and _Dicentrarchus labrax_ European seabass from Turkey [71]. These authors found 50-63% of fish tested had MPs within their gastrointestinal tracts. Among all species of fish tested, rainbow trout contained the highest amount of MP (1.2 MPs particles per fish), followed by European seabass (0.95 MPs per fish) and Gilthead seabream (0.8 MPs per fish). About 80% of the MPs detected were fibrous in shape and were made of polyethylene (25%), polyester (20%), and polyamide (10%). Most microplastic particles observed were black (61%) or blue (27%) in color. The improper disposal of surgical masks can cause substantial MP pollution and the potential for severe adverse effects on the marine Copepod (_Tigriopus japonicus_). [PERSON] et al. investigated Copepod fed by polypropylene common to surgical masks (PP-SMs) [72]. Polypropylene is a common material used globally during the COVID-19 pandemic to produce surgical masks. A significant decrease of fecundity in Copepod was observed in the treatment group of 100 MPs/mL, with an average of 19.96 \(\pm\) 5.86 offspring in the first four breeds, which could be because of the inhibition of embryonic development and reduction of food ingestion by microplastics. In contrast, the fecundity in control, and treatment groups of 1 and 10 MPs/mL was 25.57 \(\pm\) 5.04, 26.50 \(\pm\) 4.83, and 21.79 \(\pm\) 5.36 offspring, respectively. Results suggest MPs may adversely impact the Copepod's population, threatening their ecosystem's balance. Micoplastic pollution has increased substantially in the past few years and now represents a major global environmental issue. [PERSON] et al. investigated wild-caught fish purchased from different seafood markets in different regions of Australia which are used for human consumption [73]. After the assessment, they found an average of 35.5% of fish samples had at least one piece of microplastic in their gastrointestinal tract. South Australia had the highest percentage of fish with plastic (49%) and Tasmania had the lowest (20%). The average microplastic load was 0.94 pieces per fish but ranged from 0 to 17 pieces, with polyolefin identified as the dominant polymer group. The hazardous effect of microplastics interacting with biomolecules is sometimes overlooked. Microlgatics interact with biomolecules such as apocrine protein resulting in the development of protein-coated microplastic complexes in the zebrafish body. Such biomolecule-coated MPs may affect normal physiology or allow MPs to escape natural removal mechanisms. In 2022, [PERSON] et al. worked on adult zebrafish and demonstrated the harmful effects of polystyrene microplastics (PS), and bovine serum albumin (BSA) coated PS corona complex (PS + BSA) led to prolonged duration of retention in fish guts, impairing food consumption and nourishment [74]. The total food intake ratios in zebrafish after exposure to BSA or PS were reduced by 0-21.7% and 7.1-23.0%, respectively, when compared to the control group at the five observation timepoints (1-5 min).