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Whales, some sharks and other marine species such as rays are increasingly at risk from microplastics in the oceans, according to a new study, published in the journal “Trends in Ecology and Evolution”. Species such as baleen whales and basking sharks, which feed through filtering seawater for plankton, are ingesting the tiny particles of indigestible plastic which now appear to permeate oceans throughout the world. Some of these species have evolved to swallow hundreds or even thousands of cubic metres of seawater a day, but taking in microplastic can block their ability to absorb nutrients, and may have toxic side-effects.