Mullis 1
Garrett Mullis
Mrs. DeBock
English 4
October 21, 2014
Research Question: How does ocean pollution effect marine life?
Working Thesis Statement: Ocean pollution has many devastating effects on marine life.
Refined Thesis Statement: Ocean pollution negatively effects marine life because along with the
pollution are mini micro-organisms that can decrease the supply of oxygen in the water.
Annotated Bibliography
"Marine Pollution." Diving Into Oceans (2005): 80. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.
The world’s oceans have been a dumping place for many years. Population growth and
new manufactured materials have both been key factors in the rise of pollution entering the
ocean. These pollutants that enter our oceans threaten the quality of the marine environment and
our ability to use and take advantage of its resources. Organic material includes waste from pets,
farms, and people. Too much of this can be harmful to our coastal waters. Living things too
small to see with your naked eye that decompose organic material use up oxygen in the process
resulting in a decrease of the oxygen levels need by fish and other organisms that leads to death
in marine life. Some pollutants can be relatively harmless to the environment and organisms,
others can cause serious problems. Evidence shows that pollution can stress marine organisms
and reduce their lifespans and their ability to adapt to their environment. This article is relevant
to my research because it holds vital information about some impacts of pollution on marine life.
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"Ocean Pollution." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia(2014): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls
New World Encyclopedia. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.
Ocean pollution includes, trash, chemicals, and sewage introduced into the ocean by
human activity. Ocean pollution can harm marine life in the ocean and alter their habitats. It can
cause them to become ill and ultimately lead to death when animals eat debris or are exposed to
harmful chemicals. Ocean pollution can also harm humans when they swim in polluted waters or
eat contaminated seafood. The vast majority of marine debris consists of small pieces of plastic
from common objects, such as plastic bags or bottles. Plastic can be picked up and carried to the
ocean by wind or water and since it does not degrade (break down) it quickly becomes abundant
in the ocean. Plastic can be toxic to marine life so when tiny pieces are consumed by small
marine animals they can quickly become sick and die. Larger animals can become entangled in
plastic, hindering their movement. Some animals consume plastic bags mistaking them for a
common prey and these bags get stuck in their digestive track preventing the animal to eat and
this could lead to starvation of an innocent animal. This article is relevant to my research by
providing examples and types of pollution.
Parker, Lesley. "Oceans Of Rubbish." Australian Geographic 101 (2011): 114. MasterFILE
Complete. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.
Doctor Kathy Townsend started to look into the unexplained deaths of sea turtles off
Brisbane in 2005 with pollution not being thought as a key factor. At the beginning of the
investigation only two percent of the deaths were officially blamed on the ingestion of marine
rubbish. They started to collect these animals and take a close look inside of them only to find
that 30-40 percent of them had died from the ingestion of this rubbish. These turtles were
mistaking supermarket shopping bags for their favorite food, jellyfish. Plastic is not the only
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polluted threat to these animals. Anti-fouling paints used on ships can contain toxic chemicals
such as tributyltin (TBT), which can cause hearing loss in marine animals and harm their
immune systems. This article is valuable to my research because it provides a specific type of
occurrence and danger that comes along with ocean pollution.