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extinction

Currently, environmental groups and some governments are concerned with the extinction of species caused by humanity, and are attempting to combat further extinctions through a variety of conservation programs. Humans can cause extinction of a species through overharvesting, pollution, habitat destruction, introduction of new predators and food competitors, overhunting, and other influences. Explosive, unsustainable human population growth is an essential cause of the extinction crisis.

Oceans

Plastic particle water pollution microplastics Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Plastic debris <1 mm (defined here as microplastic) is accumulating in marine habitats. Ingestion of microplastic provides a potential pathway for the transfer of pollutants, monomers, and plastic-additives to organisms with uncertain consequences for their health. Here, we show that microplastic contaminates the shorelines at 18 sites worldwide representing six continents from the poles to the equator, with more material in densely populated areas, but no clear relationship between the abundance of miocroplastics and the mean size-distribution of natural particulates. An important source of microplastic appears to be through sewage contaminated by fibers from washing clothes. Forensic evaluation of microplastic from sediments showed that the proportions of polyester and acrylic fibers used in clothing resembled those found in habitats that receive sewage-discharges and sewage-effluent itself. Experiments sampling wastewater from domestic washing machines demonstrated that a single garment can produce >1900 fibers per wash. This suggests that a large proportion of microplastic fibers found in the marine environment may be derived from sewage as a consequence of washing of clothes. As the human population grows and people use more synthetic textiles, contamination of habitats and animals by microplastic is likely to increase. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es201811s

Mark Anthony Browne*†‡§, Phillip Crump¶, Stewart J. Niven§, Emma Teuten§, Andrew Tonkin¶, Tamara Galloway, and Richard Thompson§ School of Biology & Environmental Sciences, University College Dublin, Science Centre West, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland Centre for Research on the Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities, A11 School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Marine Biology & Ecology Research Group, School of Marine Science & Engineering, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, United Kingdom School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, United Kingdom Waters Canada, Ontario, Canada School of Biosciences, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4PS, United Kingdom Environ. Sci. Technol., 2011, 45 (21), pp 9175–9179 DOI: 10.1021/es201811s Publication Date (Web): September 6, 2011 Copyright © 2011 American Chemical Society Phone: +353 (0) 870 916 484. Fax: +353 (0) 1 716 1152. E-mail: mark.browne@ucd.ie.

nonnative Species

Invasive species introduced species deforestation construction industry