Answer:
(3) could be mistaken for food by some species, working their way up the food chain
Explanation:
Microbeads, such as other microplastics, can affect wildlife in many ways, but mostly by
- Ingestion
- Introduction and transference in the trophic web
- Interaction with other contaminants
- Microinvertebrates, bacteria, and viruses colonize these microplastics and can be transported long distances.
Organisms like mollusks, crustaceans, fishes, birds, turtles, among many others, might confuse these elements with food and eat them. Microbeads might float or accumulate in sediments and be ingested by different benthonic species. The ingestion of microbeads by inferior links in the trophic web means a direct entrance in the trophic web where many superior links are affected too while feeding with already contaminated prey.
The ingestion of microbeads can cause a significant impact on the growth, development, and reproduction of freshwater and seawater species.
Microbeads, like other microplastics, characterize for their durability in time and resistance, which means that the ones that are already in the oceans and rivers will last there for centuries.