Plastic in the ocean is floating directly in the habitat of many marine species. Plastic debris adds a threat to these species on top of climate change, oil spills, habitat loss, fishing and many other factors (Plot, 2010). 92% of the marine debris that wildlife come in contact with is plastic. (Gall, 2015). In 1995 an assessment was done that found 260 species to be affected by plastic waste. Today, there are 1,450 known marine species to be affected my plastic (Financial Times, 2018). Plastic can be found in all depths of the ocean. According to the United Nations Environmental Program, one million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually from our plastic waste that ends up in the ocean Floating bits mostly impact sea birds from ingestion (Daily News Egypt, 2018). Other areas of the ocean like the mesopelagic zone, which is the top 200 meters of the ocean, impacts mammals and sea turtles as well as other groups of wildlife (Williams, 2010). Turtles are also effected by plastic that is on the beaches, especially female, when nesting. plastic can be found in even the deepest parts all the way at the bottom of the sea floor. Micro plastics have been found buried into the sea floor by worms that borrow as deep as four inches according to a core sample analysis (Cirino, 2017). They have also been found in living creature's stomachs six miles down (Times, 2017). Not only do wildlife accidentally swallow pieces of plastic but they can get entangled in it as well. Items like old fishing gear is especially prominent in some areas (Williams, 2010).

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Resources

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Cirino, E. Deep-sea animals eating plastic fibers from clothing. (2017, August 15). UPI News Current. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A500618118/BIC?u=las&sid=BIC&xid=bc96e95e

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Gall, S. C., & Thompson, R. C. (2015). The impact of debris on marine life. Marine pollution bulletin, 92(1-2), 170-179.

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Plastic eaten by creatures living at the bottom of oceans. (2017, November 16). Times [London, England], p. 15. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A514626225/AONE?u=las&sid=AONE&xid=b76da289

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​(2018). Plastic pollution kills 1m seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals annually. Daily News Egypt (Egypt).

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The problem with plastic; Plastic pollution is everywhere: from the stomachs of baby seabirds to the five trillion pieces littering our oceans. Clive Cookson investigates the crisis, while Mandy Barker's photographs of washed-up debris illustrate its extent. (2018, January 27). Financial Times, p. 18. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A525125432/AONE?u=las&sid=AONE&xid=c7cbf550

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Williams, C. (2010). Oceans time to take out the garbage: people may be familiar with images of individual marine animals and birds killed by discarded plastic bags and fishing lines. But the debilitating effects of marine debris on entire species is an urgent environmental issue in the International Year of Biodiversity, as Christine Williams discovered. Ecos, (157). 10.