Protect polar wildlife from microplastics.

The article focuses on the threat posed by smaller microplastic particles (SMPs) to polar wildlife and ecosystems. It highlights that polar regions, acting as global sinks for plastic pollution, have microplastic concentrations far exceeding the global median, with SMPs entering local food webs and accumulating in the tissues of species such as Pacific walruses, gray whales, and bearded seals. These particles can cross biological barriers, causing neurotoxic effects that impair behavior and potentially disrupt predator-prey dynamics in ecosystems with low redundancy. The accelerated aging of plastics in polar freeze-thaw conditions further increases their neurotoxicity. The article calls for enhanced international collaboration, improved monitoring of SMPs, and integration of particle size and aging state into pollution assessments to mitigate these impacts on polar wildlife. [Extracted from the article]