The colour of microplastics may potentially contribute to the
likelihood of ingestion, due to prey item resemblance. Shaw and
Day (1994) reported that plastic particles sampled from the North
Pacific exhibited size variation related to colour; white plastic
particles consistently decreased in abundance with decreasing size
class. Some commercially important fish and their larvae are visual
predators, preying on small zooplankton, and may feed on microplastics
which most resemble their prey i.e. white, tan and yellow
plastic (Shaw and Day, 1994). To further support the influence of
colour on bioavailability, fish from the Niantic Bay area, New England
had ingested only opaque, white polystyrene spherules.
These were present in equal proportion with clear polystyrene
spherules, indicating selectivity (Carpenter et al., 1972). Microplastic
ingestion due to food resemblance may also be applicable to
pelagic invertebrates, which are visual raptorial predators (Greene,
1985).