Plastic Pollution Is Now Spreading From Ocean Food Chains Into Land Animals, Thanks to This Insect

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse.

DAVID NIELD 22 SEP 2018

We know that plastic pollution is a major problem for the world's oceans, but scientists just discovered a new way that discarded microplastics are making their way out of the water and into other food chains – through mosquitoes.

What's happening is mosquito larvae are ingesting microplastics as water-dwelling larvae, and those plastic particles are sticking around as they transition into flying mosquitoes.

Those adult insects provide tasty snacks for birds and bats in the air above, which means microplastics are now ending up in the stomachs of land animals, not just marine creatures.

This process is technically known as ontogenic transference, meaning it happens as the organism matures and moves habitats.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/mosquitoes-carry-microplastics-from-water-to-air-and-other-food-chains