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A growing crisis for One Health: Impacts of plastic pollution across layers of biological function

Publication ,  Journal Article
Morrison, M; Trevisan, R; Ranasinghe, P; Merrill, GB; Santos, J; Hong, A; Edward, WC; Jayasundara, N; Somarelli, JA
Published in: Frontiers in Marine Science
November 2, 2022

The global accumulation of plastic waste has reached crisis levels. The diverse and multilayered impacts of plastic on biological health prompts an evaluation of these effects from a One Health perspective, through which the complexity of these processes can be integrated and more clearly understood. Plastic particles ranging from nanometers to meters in size are found throughout every ecosystem on Earth, from the deepest marine trenches to the highest mountains. Plastic waste affects all layers of biological organization, from the molecular and cellular to the organismal, community, and ecosystem-levels. These effects are not only mediated by the physical properties of plastics, but also by the chemical properties of the plastic polymers, the thousands of additives combined with plastics during manufacturing, and the sorbed chemicals and microbes that are transported by the plastic waste. Using a One Health framework we provide an overview of the following themes: 1) ways in which plastic impacts global health across levels of biological organization, 2) how the effects of plastic interact between layers of biology, and 3) what knowledge gaps exist in understanding the effects of plastic within and between biological scales. We also propose potential solutions to address this growing crisis, with an emphasis on One Health perspectives that consider the oneness of animals, humans, and the environment.

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Published In

Frontiers in Marine Science

DOI

EISSN

2296-7745

Publication Date

November 2, 2022

Volume

9

Related Subject Headings

  • 3708 Oceanography
  • 3705 Geology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0405 Oceanography
 

Citation

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Morrison, M., Trevisan, R., Ranasinghe, P., Merrill, G. B., Santos, J., Hong, A., … Somarelli, J. A. (2022). A growing crisis for One Health: Impacts of plastic pollution across layers of biological function. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.980705
Morrison, M., R. Trevisan, P. Ranasinghe, G. B. Merrill, J. Santos, A. Hong, W. C. Edward, N. Jayasundara, and J. A. Somarelli. “A growing crisis for One Health: Impacts of plastic pollution across layers of biological function.” Frontiers in Marine Science 9 (November 2, 2022). https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.980705.
Morrison M, Trevisan R, Ranasinghe P, Merrill GB, Santos J, Hong A, et al. A growing crisis for One Health: Impacts of plastic pollution across layers of biological function. Frontiers in Marine Science. 2022 Nov 2;9.
Morrison, M., et al. “A growing crisis for One Health: Impacts of plastic pollution across layers of biological function.” Frontiers in Marine Science, vol. 9, Nov. 2022. Scopus, doi:10.3389/fmars.2022.980705.
Morrison M, Trevisan R, Ranasinghe P, Merrill GB, Santos J, Hong A, Edward WC, Jayasundara N, Somarelli JA. A growing crisis for One Health: Impacts of plastic pollution across layers of biological function. Frontiers in Marine Science. 2022 Nov 2;9.

Published In

Frontiers in Marine Science

DOI

EISSN

2296-7745

Publication Date

November 2, 2022

Volume

9

Related Subject Headings

  • 3708 Oceanography
  • 3705 Geology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0405 Oceanography