Microplastic contamination has been found in 100 percent of the water samples collected from Jiaming Lake (嘉明湖) in Taitung County, the second-highest mountain lake in Taiwan and a main source of drinking water for the Formosan sambar deer, a protected species, a study released on Sunday by Greenpeace found.
Microplastics were also detected in up to 80 percent of the water samples collected from other sources along the hiking trail to Jiaming Lake, which sits at an elevation of 3,310m, the global environmental organization said in a statement.
The Formosan sambar deer, a subspecies of the sambar found in the high mountains, is Taiwan’s largest herbivore, and was listed as a protected species under the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法) because it was driven to the verge of extinction by hunting and the destruction of its natural habitat.
Photo courtesy of the Taitung Forest District Office
Given that adult deer weigh about 150kg and medium mammals consume about 30 cubic centimeters of water per kilogram of body weight per day, the Formosan sambar at Jiaming Lake could consume about 80 microplastic particles per day, Greenpeace said.
Microplastics are any type of plastic fragment less than 5mm long that pollute the environment.
Microplastic particles are found in bodies of water and on land, and could potentially harm protected animal species, Greenpeace project director Tang An (唐安) said, adding that more should be done to reduce the use of plastics to better protect endangered animals.
A Greenpeace research team in July collected 15 samples from the deer’s water sources and 31 samples of deer feces along the Jiaming Lake National Trail (嘉明湖國家步道) and the Tataka (塔塔加) area on Yushan (玉山), the highest peak in Taiwan at an altitude of 3,952m.
Microplastics were detected in more than 30 percent of the feces samples collected in the Tataka area, the study’s highest detection rate, Greenpeace said.
This was the first study released by Greenpeace on the effects of microplastics on endemic animal species, the organization said, adding that it would be used in further research about the effects of microplastics on the terrestrial ecosystem.
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