Micro- and nanoplastics effects in a multiple stressed marine environment

The ecotoxicological consequences of microplastics and co-contaminants in aquatic organisms: a mini-review

“…In extrapolating those findings to the natural world, two pertinent questions need to be addressed: (i) do laboratory studies realistically reflect the complexity of MPs in the environment and (ii) are MPs relevant chemical carriers compared with other potential sorbents? It is now established that in the environment, MPs are neither just pristine nor just contaminated, but rather exist in a continuum as a class of complex pollutants from different polymer types, shapes and sizes, at different levels of environmental transformations, and which can leach or sorb a multitude of chemicals (Figure 1) [1,5,18,66]. Despite this, most co-contaminant experimental studies employ aspects that lack environmental relevance; the use of pristine MPs, single polymers and MP types (e.g.…”

“…Furthermore, as climatic conditions shift due to global change (e.g. lower pH, increased temperature and fluctuating salinities) the impact of such parameters should be better linked to plastic pollution [66,74].…”

A comprehensive assessment of plastic remediation technologies

“…Despite the overall knowledge on the risk of microplastics remains low in most areas of the ocean (Everaert et al, 2020), studies have investigated the effects of plastic pollution in marine, terrestrial and freshwater environments (Bucci et al, 2019). Moreover, although the interactions are not yet fully known and should be investigated with realistic scenarios and within a changing environment (Catarino et al, 2022), evidence suggests that ingested microplastics, in addition to individual issues, can have effects on higher level of organisation, such as population, community and food web (Everaert et al, 2022;López-Martínez et al, 2021;Nelms et al, 2018). Plastic has the capacity to sorb hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) (Koelmans et al, 2016) and as such cause indirect effects to organisms of which the impact depends on the trophic level of the recipient species (Diepens and Koelmans, 2018).…”

Editorial: Plastic pollution in a changing marine environment: effects and risk

“…Besides accumulation zones of macrolitter, it is essential to have an improved understanding of microplastic (<5mm) formation mechanisms for estimating plastic particle sizes in the environment, and establish their potential for ingestion by marine organisms (Kooi and Koelmans, 2019). The ubiquity of microplastics in marine ecosystems requires further contextualization within a multi-stressor framework, as combined stressors can lead to synergistic effects (Catarino et al, 2022;Khan et al, 2022), and a broader vision of the plastic pollution impacts' magnitude is crucial for understanding and quantifying risks and effects in marine ecosystems. The goal of this research topic was to provide an overview of high-quality data collection (useful for risk assessment) and procedures, to report plastic litter and particles accumulation in the environment and biota, to investigate microplastic formation due to UV exposure, as well as to discuss potential interactions of plastic particles and climate change in future scenarios.Data infrastructures are vital for aggregating standardized information and providing insights on litter accumulation zones in the marine environment.…”