Effects of polyethylene-type microplastics on the growth and primary production of the freshwater phytoplankton species Scenedesmus armatus and Microcystis aeruginosa

Sánchez-Fortún, A.; Fajardo, Carmen; Martı́n, Carmen; D’ors, A.; Nande, Mar; Mengs, Gerardo; Costa, Gonzalo; Martín, Margarita; Sánchez-Fortún, S.

doi:10.1016/j.envexpbot.2021.104510

Cited by 19 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Any alteration or threat to the primary producers will have significant effects on the food chains/webs and consequently on the entire ecosystems, therefore, assessing the impact of emerging pollutants on primary producers is crucial. Literature survey revealed that petroleum-based microplastics have deleterious effects on various parameters of phytoplankton including photosynthetic capacity and growth (Sánchez-Fortún et al 2021).…”

Section: Phytoplankton Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Polylactic acid synthesis, biodegradability, conversion to microplastics and toxicity: a review

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Global pollution by plastics derived from petroleum has fostered the development of carbon–neutral, biodegradable bioplastics synthesized from renewable resources such as modern biomass, yet knowledge on the impact of bioplastics on ecosystems is limited. Here we review the polylactic acid plastic with focus on synthesis, biodegradability tuning, environmental conversion to microplastics, and impact on microbes, algae, phytoplankton, zooplankton, annelids, mollusk and fish. Polylactic acid is a low weight semi-crystalline bioplastic used in agriculture, medicine, packaging and textile. Polylactic acid is one of the most widely used biopolymers, accounting for 33% of all bioplastics produced in 2021. Although biodegradable in vivo, polylactic acid is not completely degradable under natural environmental conditions, notably under aquatic conditions. Polylactic acid disintegrates into microplastics faster than petroleum-based plastics and may pose severe threats to the exposed biota.

show abstract

Section: Phytoplankton Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Polylactic acid synthesis, biodegradability, conversion to microplastics and toxicity: a review

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Phytoplankton is a major primary producer in freshwater food chain [9] . In freshwater system species richness, diversity, and abundance of phytoplankton play a critical role in maintaining the ecological balance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In freshwater system species richness, diversity, and abundance of phytoplankton play a critical role in maintaining the ecological balance. These indicators also provide necessary information regarding pollution level of particular aquatic ecosystem [9] . Previous studies reported that MPs would affect freshwater microalgae in concentration and size-dependent manner [10] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxicity of polystyrene microplastics in freshwater algae Scenedesmus obliquus: Effects of particle size and surface charge

Natarajan¹,

Das²,

Dey

et al. 2022

Toxicology Reports

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…For example, microplastics may act as a dispersal vector for bloom‐forming cyanobacteria (Masó et al, 2003; Naik et al, 2019; Oberbeckmann et al, 2014; Yokota et al, 2017; Zettler et al, 2013), expanding the spatial and temporal extent of HABs. Furthermore, microplastics may influence the growth of toxin‐producing cyanobacteria or the production and release of toxins by these cyanobacteria (Sánchez‐Fortún et al, 2021; Wan et al, 2021; Wu et al, 2021; Zhou et al, 2021). An emerging concern and focus of the present study is whether microplastics can influence the environmental fate of waterborne algal toxins released by cyanobacteria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Evidence from the Field that Naturally Weathered Microplastics Accumulate Cyanobacterial Toxins in Eutrophic Lakes

Hataley

Shahmohamadloo

Almirall

et al. 2022

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Freshwater ecosystems with recurring harmful algal blooms can also be polluted with plastics. Thus the two environmental problems may interact. To test whether microplastics influence the partitioning of microcystins in freshwater lakes, we examined the sorption of four microcystin congeners to different polymers of commercially available plastics (low-density polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, and polypropylene). We conducted three experiments: a batch sorption experiment in the laboratory with pristine microplastics of four different polymers, a second batch sorption experiment in the laboratory to compare pristine and naturally weathered microplastics of a single polymer, and a 2-month sorption experiment in the field with three different polymers experiencing natural weathering in a eutrophic lake. This series of experiments led to a surprising result: microcystins sorbed poorly to all polymers tested under laboratory conditions (<0.01% of the initial amount added), irrespective of weathering, yet in the field experiment, all polymers accumulated microcystins under ambient conditions in a eutrophic lake (range: 0-84.1 ng/g). Furthermore, we found that the sorption capacity for microcystins differed among polymers in the laboratory experiment yet were largely the same in the field. We also found that the affinity for plastic varied among microcystin congeners, namely, more polar congeners demonstrated a greater affinity for plastic than less polar congeners. Our study improves our understanding of the role of polymer and congener type in microplastic-microcystin sorption and provides novel evidence from the field, showing that naturally weathered microplastics in freshwater lakes can accumulate microcystins. Consequently, we caution that microplastics may alter the persistence, transport, and bioavailability of microcystins in freshwaters, which could have implications for human and wildlife health.

show abstract

Effects of polyethylene-type microplastics on the growth and primary production of the freshwater phytoplankton species Scenedesmus armatus and Microcystis aeruginosa

Cited by 19 publications

References 49 publications

Polylactic acid synthesis, biodegradability, conversion to microplastics and toxicity: a review

Polylactic acid synthesis, biodegradability, conversion to microplastics and toxicity: a review

Toxicity of polystyrene microplastics in freshwater algae Scenedesmus obliquus: Effects of particle size and surface charge

Experimental Evidence from the Field that Naturally Weathered Microplastics Accumulate Cyanobacterial Toxins in Eutrophic Lakes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About