National parks are full of microplastics
National parks like Joshua Tree, Rocky Mountain and the Grand Canyon — places that people generally think of as pristine —are plagued by microplastics, ...
plastic
Microplastics detected in birds of prey for first time
For the first time, researchers have detected microplastics in the guts of birds of prey. These tiny particles, which may come from clothes, cosmetics or the ...
Sea turtles mistake plastic smell for food
Researchers have long known the dangers that plastic debris in the ocean can pose to sea turtles. They can swallow it. They can get tangled in it. But researchers ...
Polar bears are eating plastic bags
Polar bears are rummaging in dumps and ingesting plastic bags, according to new research. An analysis looking at the stomach content of 51 polar bears killed by ...
Balloons play an outsize role in seabird deaths
Parents may want to think twice before allowing their children to let balloons fly off into the atmosphere. When seemingly harmless latex balloons end up in the ...
All sea turtle species show evidence of microplastic in gut
Scientists knew that sea turtles often swallow large pieces of plastic floating in the ocean, creating swallowing hazards. Now, a team of researchers has found ...
Higher paternity rates bring some good news for sea turtles
In just one nest, loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nestlings tend to have multiple fathers, according to new research. This is good news, researchers say, ...
Japanese tsunami flooded US with invasives
In June 2012, 15 months after a magnitude-9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan and sent a colossal tsunami hurtling through the oceans, a 66-foot slab of concrete ...
Plastic Can Disrupt Development of Turtle Embryos
Researchers at Illinois State University are studying the impacts of BPA, a common chemical found in plastic, on red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta ...