{"id":295318,"date":"2025-11-16T15:15:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T15:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/295318\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T15:15:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T15:15:12","slug":"scientists-make-concerning-first-of-its-kind-discovery-while-studying-amazon-monkeys-sounds-an-alarm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/295318\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists make concerning first-of-its-kind discovery while studying Amazon monkeys: ‘Sounds an alarm’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new study<\/a> revealed the presence of microplastics in the stomachs of howler monkeys living in a protected area of the Brazilian Amazon. This is the first evidence of plastic ingestion by a tree-dwelling primate, the researchers said.<\/p>\n

What’s happening?<\/p>\n

Mongabay summarized<\/a> the paper, which analyzed the digestive contents of 47 Juru\u00e1 red howler monkeys whose remains were donated by subsistence hunters through a decades-long partnership with local communities. Microplastics were discovered in the guts of two individuals.<\/p>\n

While the frequency was low, “still that’s already a lot,” according to lead author Anam\u00e9lia de Souza Jesus, a researcher at the government-funded Mamirau\u00e1 Institute in Tef\u00e9 in Amazonas state.<\/p>\n

“Finding microplastics in preserved environments sounds an alarm,” she told Mongabay. “It shows that plastic pollution is reaching places we assumed were protected.”<\/p>\n

The study team believes the monkeys could have come into contact with the plastics through contaminated river water \u2014 the forests where they live are flooded for half of the year \u2014 or from plastic waste, such as fishing nets getting caught higher up in trees as water receded for the dry season.<\/p>\n

Why is this study important?<\/p>\n

This study adds to the body of evidence showing how plastic pollution is affecting wildlife across the globe. For instance, a recent study found that a green sea turtle can contain up to 26.4 grams of plastic, equivalent to approximately 10 ping-pong balls.<\/p>\n

Microplastics are also making their way into human bodies, as they’ve infiltrated our food supply, water, air, and soil. For instance, one 2024 study found these tiny plastic particles in 90% of tested protein sources, including tofu, chicken, and beef.<\/p>\n

A number of studies aim to uncover the possible impacts of microplastic exposure in humans and other animals. While this field is still developing, one study on pigs suggested that these tiny plastic pieces can affect the functioning of the nervous system involved in digestion, and another paper found a link between microplastics and chronic kidney disease in mice.<\/p>\n

What’s being done about microplastics?<\/p>\n

The best way to cut down on microplastics<\/a> is to eliminate unnecessary use of plastics. For instance, a reusable water bottle<\/a> is a great alternative to a plastic one, and a shampoo bar can eliminate the unneeded packaging that comes with liquid formulas.<\/p>\n

Plus, scientists are looking for ways to eliminate these tiny particles from our environment. For instance, one group of researchers has found a way to remove microplastics from farm soil using a processed form of farm waste. Others are working on ways to remove them from our water.<\/p>\n

Join our free newsletter<\/a> for good news and useful tips, and don’t miss this cool list<\/a> of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new study revealed the presence of microplastics in the stomachs of howler monkeys living in a protected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[154195,21251,96956,11743,79,201],"class_list":["post-295318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-howler-monkeys","tag-microplastics","tag-plastic-particles","tag-plastic-pollution","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}