Microplastics in marine biota: a review

Abstract

Plastics are the most important component in marine debris. In turn, within plastics, microplastics (<5mm) are those that most affect marine biota. Thus, this review has as its main objective to show the current state of studies of microplastics, as well as to determine the groups of vertebrates most affected by microplastics, and the type and predominant color of microplastics. For this research, we review a total of 142 articles. Our results show that the group more affected is turtles, the predominant type is fibers (67.3%), polymer is polyethylene (27.3%), and color is blue (32.9%). Therefore, we believe that it is necessary to carry out more research and appropriate policies for reduction of plastics in the environment.