Did you know that tiny plastic pellets, often overlooked as waste, play a surprisingly crucial role in the ocean’s ecosystem. These pellets, used to make many plastic products, are mistaken for food by marine animals ranging from tiny fish to large sea turtles. This ingestion can have devastating consequences, leading to starvation, entanglement, and poisoning. Millions of seabirds, fish, and marine mammals are affected each year by this unintentional consumption of plastic pellets, highlighting the far-reaching impact of seemingly harmless objects

Prompt:
What seemingly mundane object has a surprising role in a unique natural process that affects millions?