00:00Did you know that just a teaspoon of seawater can contain more than a million living organisms?
00:12They're called plankton and they're vital for the health of our ocean.
00:17But they're also facing enormous threats.
00:21The Plymouth Marine Laboratory discovered that zooplankton are ingesting microplastics.
00:28What happens when those organisms ingest microplastics?
00:32So when a copepod, for example, eats microplastic, it can cause gut blockages.
00:38It can interfere with their ability to feed normally.
00:42Those two things combined can cause toxicological effects on the animals.
00:47And those toxicological effects can include changes to their feeding ability,
00:52to their ability to reproduce and have healthy eggs and healthy offspring.
00:56And also the growth and development of those animals over time.
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