Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of microplastics in marine organisms: A review and meta-analysis of current data
Fig 5
Frequency of microplastic (MP) polymer types confirmed in studies on marine species collected in situ and exposed in laboratory experiments.
Data has been organised by trophic level, which are grouped into to a single decimal place, i.e. level 4.2 includes 4.21 to 4.29. Microplastic polymers include those found in organisms collected from field samples (n = 87 studies; dark shaded on bottom) or used in laboratory experiments investigating MP uptake, including those focused on trophic transfer (n = 22 studies; light shaded on top). Note that not all studies confirmed or reported MP polymer types. Details regarding the number and percentage of studies for each trophic level have been provided in S8 Table in S1 File. ‘Other’ includes less frequently found polymers such as: PAN, PMMA, CP, PC, ABS, EVA, PVA, PUR, PTFE, ASA, acrylic, alkyd and epoxy. Some varieties of polymers have been grouped together (i.e. PE includes HDPE, MDPE and LDPE; PET includes PET and PES).