Running head: EFFECTS OF MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION ON A SPECIFIC SPECIES 1

Effects of Marine Plastic Pollution on a Specific Species

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June 14, 2020

EFFECTS OF MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION ON A SPECIFIC SPECIES 2

Effects of Marine Plastic Pollution on a Specific Species

Introduction

Human activities are responsible for a massive reduction in species diversity around the

world, and the issue is so severe that cumulative human effects may have increased current

extinction levels to 1000–10,000 times the natural level. The risk to marine life in the oceans

comes in various ways, such as over-exploitation and mining, waste disposal, deforestation, alien

organisms, infrastructure construction, drilling, and climate change. The decline in the eel

populations can be related to changes in ocean physical conditions. The simultaneous decreases

of the species of eel may imply the engagement of large-scale drivers like changes in oceanic

conditions affecting the hatching and consequent larvae sustainability. Global warming has had a

direct effect on ocean temperatures and changing oceanic characteristics. Eels have quickly

implemented both at the local region and drainage scale to very diverse growth environments.

Eels are panic, and their long larval drift limits local genetic tolerance. Even so, in the local

region and within water resources, there are similarities between ecological processes and spatial

trends in the life-history traits. This paper explains the significant increases in pressure during

the "Great Acceleration," which exceeded the eels' adaptive capability. It shows that the

combined effects of global change will cause species to decline, even in species with extremely

high adaptive capacities.

Effects of Marine Plastic Pollution

Eels are impacted by five components of the global change due to their specific life

cycles, which share remote oceanic habitat and continental growth phase. Plastic now accounts

for about 10 percent of all waste produced, with over 260 million tons per year of global use.
EFFECTS OF MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION ON A SPECIFIC SPECIES 3

Plastic waste has accrued at an unsustainable level in the ecosystem, where it is inevitably

confined to the wind and river-driven transport that reaches the coast. Plastics have become a

widespread, major presence of marine litter because of its lightweight, resilient existence. The

difficulty of eliminating plastics waste is attributable to the fact that in nature, it does not

decompose but only degrades photographs into tiny chunks[CITATION Isa18 \p 6-8 \l 1033 ].

They reach continental waters, going to turn into pigmented yellow eels, colonizing from

brackish to freshwater a wide range of mainland habitats. Yellow eels metamorphose into silver

eels after such a growth period lasting from 3 to over 30 years and migrate to their feeding

grounds. The eels ripen along the way and potentially die after spawning.

Effect on Silver Eel Spawning Migration

The subsequent eel stages may also be affected by climate change. Indirect means,

oceanic circumstances, and climate change can impact the discharge of rivers by modifying the

rainfall regimes. Water extraction for human use, agriculture, and other chemical products also

alter the release regime. River discharge and precipitation are essential (direct or indirect) causes

of silver eel migration. Higher river outflow increases the speed of migration[CITATION

Dro18 \p 908 \l 1033 ].

Increased Contamination Load

Because of their high trophic level and high lipid storage, eels are prone to pollution.

Pollutants found in the eels include synthetic pollutants, heavy metals, and pesticides. Thus eels

are often used as pollution bio-indicators. Levels of pollutants are often higher than human

consumption guidelines and have resulted in fishing bans at various locations in European

countries (Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Italy).

EFFECTS OF MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION ON A SPECIFIC SPECIES 4

These pollutants are commonly found in aquatic fish, and their impacts have been

expressed on fish biology and the threat to human consumption. Although in nations with mining

activities, metal pollutants have a long history, organic pollution, chemicals, and loads of

nutrients are far more recent. In the second half of the twentieth century, many of them emerged

about intensifying agriculture, urban growth, and economic processes. Throughout this time, the

use of fertilizers exponentially increased[CITATION Mea13 \p 1830-1834 \l 1033 ].

Fragmentation and Habitat Loss

Diadromous fish like eels experience two long migrations: The first migration, from the

feeding grounds to their growing habitat, involves a period of intensive inland migration in water

resources during the early years of their maritime life-stage. In the second migration, the eels

migrate from their growth environments in rivers or coastal waters to oceanic spawning grounds.

The exploitation of Natural Resources

Eels are aimed at all marine life stages by commercial and recreational fisheries (silver

eels, yellow eels, and glass eels) with a wide range of passive and active tools. Yellow and silver

eels have long been manipulated, as indicated in prehistoric symbols, by depictions of eels. Eel

has been an essential food resource for Native Americans and is a traditional Japanese and East

Asian food. The first formal European Eel Fisheries record dates back to 1086[CITATION

Der02 \p 842-852 \l 1033 ]. Unlike the condition for other local fisheries, eel cultivation is not a

closed system in that it still relies on wild-caught glass eels. For the Japanese eel, only artificial

reproduction and breeding of glass eels were accomplished.

Resilience of Eels Severely Impaired By Global Change

EFFECTS OF MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION ON A SPECIFIC SPECIES 5

A variety of factors contribute to eel population resistance. First, the existence of a

brackish/marine contingent (which skips the freshwater phase) may buffer the catadromous

contingent-specific pressures such as dams, contamination, fishing, or parasites. Additionally,

their very large spectrum of diets, their resistance to temperature fluctuations, salinity, oxygen,

food availability, and temporary emersion enable them to develop in a very wide range of

habitats. This plasticity in development habitat can produce a "storage impact" and a "portfolio

impact" that mitigates variability in the ecosystem. In a multistep process, a storage effect refers

to a situation where the effects of environmental conditions on other stages are buffered by a

particular stage of long duration and reduced sensitivity to environmental conditions.

Finally, fisheries are not spread equally, with European silver eel fisheries mainly

existing at the end of the production area, particularly the northern edge. However, fisheries are

also essential along the Mediterranean Sea, and glass eel fisheries in the middle. Anthropogenic

pressures directly impact history traits and ecotypes of life in various ways by affecting different

habitats. Climate change and glass eel fishing are likely to affect all ecotypes: recruitment

success is influenced by climate change[CITATION Dro18 \p 915 \l 1033 ]. Although not

equitably spread in the distribution area, glass eel fisheries typically operate downstream of

water resources and subsequently extract all incoming glass eels equally.

Conclusion

It is concluded that the simultaneous decreases of the species of eel may imply the

engagement of large-scale drivers like changes in oceanic conditions affecting the hatching and

consequent larvae sustainability. The difficulty of eliminating plastics waste is attributable to the

fact that in nature, it does not decompose but only degrades photographs into tiny chunks. The

subsequent eel stages may also be affected by climate change. Indirect means, oceanic
EFFECTS OF MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION ON A SPECIFIC SPECIES 6

circumstances, and climate change can impact the discharge of rivers by modifying the rainfall

regimes. Climate change and glass eel fishing are likely to affect all ecotypes: recruitment

success is influenced by climate change.

References
EFFECTS OF MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION ON A SPECIFIC SPECIES 7

Derraik, J. G. (2002). The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: A review.

Marine Pollution Bulletin, 44(9), 842-852. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11059309_The_Pollution_of_the_Marine_Envi

ronment_by_Plastic_Debris_A_Review

Drouineau, H., Rochard, E., Castonguay, M., Yokouchi, K., Mateo, M., Verreault, G., . . .

Lambert, P. (2018). Freshwater eels: A symbol of the effects of global change. Fish and

Fisheries, 19(5), 903-930.

Isangedighi, I. A., David, G. S., & Obot, O. (2018). Plastic waste in the aquatic environment:

Impacts and management. Environment, 2, 1-31. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330083619_Plastic_Waste_in_the_Aquatic_En

vironment_Impacts_and_Management

Mearns, A., Reish, D. J., Oshida, P. S., & Ginn, T. (2013). Effects of pollution on marine

organisms. Water Environment Research, 85(10), 1828-1933. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273766242_Effects_of_Pollution_on_Marine_

Organisms