Looking for Nano- and Microplastics in Meiofauna Using Advanced Methodologies

Abstract

Meiofauna (body size within 30–1000 µm) are the community of microscopic invertebrates that live at the bottom of marine and freshwater ecosystems and play a key role in the food webs of these environments. Several studies have addressed the adverse effects of anthropic stressors on meiofauna; however, data on the presence and impact of plastic debris in wild meiofaunal organisms are scant. Since the amount of microplastic waste in sediments may surge rapidly, ascertaining the ingestion of these xenobiotics by the abundant micrometazoan community is necessary to understand their potential accumulation in aquatic food webs and their hazard to the health of the ecosystem. The absence of documentation in this regard may be due to the difficulty in detecting the small size of the plastic fragments meiofauna may potentially ingest. To overcome this difficulty, we developed an integrated approach based on different microscopic/spectroscopic techniques suitable for detecting plastic particles of sizes down to 200 nm.

Short-term microplastic effects on marine meiofauna abundance, diversity and community composition

“…Copepods, along with nematodes, are the meiofauna group that have been most extensively examined for uptake and effects of microplastics ( Li et al, 2020 ; Sun et al, 2021 ; Yang et al, 2022 ). Despite some monospecific studies with benthic copepods reporting substantial MP ingestion ( Quanbin et al, 2020 ; Todaro et al, 2023 ; Xie et al, 2022 ), and even a preference for MP over food particles ( Lee et al, 2013 ), ingestion in this study was limited, occurring only at the highest MP concentration, partly in line with ( Di Lorenzo et al., 2023 ; Fueser, Mueller & Traunspurger, 2020a ; Fueser, Mueller & Traunspurger, 2020b ) who reported copepods as the meiobenthic taxon with the lowest ingestion. At the same time, however, approximately 25% of copepods in our study had particles affixed to their locomotory appendages, a phenomenon also observed in pelagic copepods ( Quanbin et al, 2020 ).…”

“…There is a need for an efficient analysis to address uncertainties regarding whether meiofauna in situ can truly ingest large quantities of microplastics. Current advancements in microplastics investigation techniques have been unable to conclusively prove or detect meiofauna ingestion of very small microplastic particles ( Todaro et al, 2023 ). Even fewer studies have delved into dose–response effects on meiofauna community structure, with a limited examination of response variables beyond total abundance ( Rauchschwalbe et al, 2022a ; Wakkaf et al, 2020 ).…”