MELBOURNE, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Antarctic krill may refuse to eat food contaminated with microplastics, according to an Australian study published on Wednesday.
Researchers from Australia's University of Tasmania said they made the discovery by accident while studying the production of "food boluses," compact masses of rejected food formed by krill that sink to the bottom of the ocean.
When testing different foods in the lab, a food sample was accidentally contaminated with microplastics from a cleaning sponge, and the researchers said that after this accident, food rejections increased threefold.
Antarctic krill are small marine animals that play an important role in the ocean's food web and carbon cycle, helping move vast amounts of carbon into deep waters through their feeding and waste, according to the study published in the online journal Biology Letters.
This discovery raises questions about how pollution may change the production of boluses, as bolus formation increases when food is too abundant or when particles like plastic are caught in their feeding basket, the study said.
The scientists said it highlights how rising microplastic pollution could alter krill feeding behavior and affect carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean. ■
