Scientist films plankton ingesting plastic waste
A scientist has recorded a species of plankton consuming plastic microfibre, showing how the lives of even the smallest creatures in the oceans are being impacted by human waste.
Plankton are a prey of several species of large baleen whales as well as many other creatures. While the impact of larger pieces of plastic on wildlife are more obvious to see, this was the first time Dr Richard Kirby had recorded on film this type of waste being consumed by plankton.
You can watch the film on the BBC website.
According to the UN, there are at up to 51 trillion (51 x a million million) microplastic particles in the oceans.
