Microplastics have been found to be swallowed by deep-sea organisms for the first time.

Now, with a new study showing that microplastics are far more damaging to the Earth's ecological environment than previously thought, researchers have found evidence for the first time that marine life at depths of 1,800 metres between the sea floors devours microplastics.
University of England researchers sampled the mid-Atlantic and southwestern Indian Oceans and found microplastic fibers in many deep-sea organisms, including resident crabs, lobsters and sea cucus living 300-1800 metres below the sea floor.
The discovery confirms for the first time that microplastics are swallowed by deep-sea organisms, said study leader Dr. Michelle Taylor, who said the survey, which aims to collect microplastics from deep-sea sediments, showed large amounts of microplastics in deep-sea areas that deep-sea organisms swallow, and found that plastic microfibers are widely found in marine organisms such as corals, lobsters and sea cumberfish.
is that microplastics are present in deep-sea environments, thousands of kilometres from land-level sources of pollution.
microplastics are small plastic particles up to 5 mm long, including microfibers and microgel beads.
the study, researchers found that plastic substances such as polyester, nylon and acrylic were discharged into the ocean through laundry water.
deep-sea organisms feed on "sea snow", which refers to particulate marine sediments that drift to the bottom of the sea, including marine carcasses, fecal matter, plankton shells, etc.
researchers used an underwater tool to collect samples of marine life in detail and test whether they swallowed any microplastics.
Dr Claire Gwinnett, associate professor of forensic and criminal sciences at Stanford University in the US, said: "Using forensic laboratory technology, we are able to identify the presence of microplastics in deep-sea biodigestion systems, and forensic science is still a new science and technology, but we are very pleased with the research and technology, which is beginning to correlate with information from other scientific and important environmental studies.
"