Background: Plastics have conveyed great benefits to humanity and made possible some of
the most significant advances of modern civilization in fields as diverse as medicine …

Twenty years after the first publication that used the term microplastic, we review current
understanding, refine definitions, and consider future prospects. Microplastics arise from …

Plastic pollution accumulating in an area of the environment is considered “poorly
reversible” if natural mineralization processes occurring there are slow and engineered …

Biodiversity, a term now widely employed in science, policy, and wider society, has a
burgeoning associated literature. We synthesize aspects of this literature, focusing on …

We present an overview of the global spatiotemporal distribution of avian biodiversity,
changes in our knowledge of that biodiversity, and the extent to which it is imperilled. Birds …

Plastics are persistent and pervasive throughout the environment and have now been
reported from the deepest parts of the ocean to the tops of the highest and most remote …

Human activities are changing our environment. Along with climate change and a
widespread loss of biodiversity, plastic pollution now plays a predominant role in altering …

A steep rise in global plastic production and significant discharge of plastic waste are
expected in the near future. Plastics pose a threat to the ecosystem and human health …

Plastics are the most important component in marine debris. In turn, within plastics,
microplastics (< 5 mm) are those that most affect marine biota. Thus, this review has as its …

The global issues of climate change and marine litter are interlinked and understanding
these connections are key to managing their combined risks to marine biodiversity and …