Microplastics aggravate the joint toxicity to earthworm Eisenia fetida with cadmium by altering its availability

Huang, Caide; Ge, Yan; Yue, Shizhong; Zhao, Lei; Qiao, Yuhui

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142042

Cited by 124 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Similar to the studies on single exposure to microplastics, combined exposures of earthworms to microplastics and chemicals caused changes in the biomarkers related to stress. 38,39,[43][44][45][46] Combined exposure to chemicals and microplastics could also damage the nerve transmission process of earthworms 39) , as observed with the earthworms exposed to only microplastics. 33) Most studies did not report direct relationship between exposure to microplastics and death of earthworms, but some reported reducted weight and growth of earthworms 40,43,45) and increased mortality.…”

Section: Combined Exposure To Microplastics and Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…With regard to the chemical accumulation, different results have been observed by different researchers. For example, some studies showed increased microplastic accumulation by earthworms when they were exposed to microplastics in the presence of other chemicals such as heavy metals and organic compounds 38,[41][42][43]46) , and some studies reported decreased microplastic accumulation by earthworms. 37,45) The differences in the microplastic accumulation can be explained by different factors including types and concentrations of contaminants that coexist with microplastics, characteristics of microplastics (i.e., types, sizes, shapes), and exposure periods.…”

Section: Combined Exposure To Microplastics and Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…45) In addition to the effects on growth and mortality, the studies on the earthworm behavior towards the microplastics contaminated with chemicals showed that earthworms tend to avoid microplastics contaminated with chemicals. 39,40) Earthworms might avoid soils contaminated with high concentrations of microplastics 43) ; however, they might not show such avoidance behavior. 41) The ingestion of microplastics caused damages to internal organs and sperm DNA of earthworms.…”

Section: Combined Exposure To Microplastics and Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…41) The ingestion of microplastics caused damages to internal organs and sperm DNA of earthworms. 43) Also, the absorption of microplastics by earthworms could change the bacterial activities in earthworms resulting in greater accumulation of chemicals. 46) In the co-presence of chemicals such as heavy metals and microplastics, the availability of chemicals to earthworms can be affected, which, in turn, influence the amount of microplastics and chemicals accumulated in earthworms.…”

Section: Combined Exposure To Microplastics and Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Current Research Trends on the Effects of Microplastics in Soil Environment Using Earthworms: Mini-Review

Hur¹,

Jho²

2021

J Korean Soc Environ Eng

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Objectives : The increase in the amount of plastics used has brought convenience to human life, but has also caused various environmental problems such as problems related to microplastics. Microplastics are defined as small plastic particles with a size of under 5 mm. As of now, research on microplastics has been largely focusing on the marine environment, and studies on microplastics in soil environment are on the rise in very recent years. Thus, the environmental impact of microplastics on the soil environment are insufficient than those on the marine environment, and there is a need for more studies. Therefore, this mini-review attempts to examine the studies on microplastics in soil environment focusing on the studies using earthworms as a test species.Methods : Published studies on microplastics in soil environment were identified by searching Web of Science. The focus of this mini-review was to gather the published articles reporting the effect of microplastics on earthworms in the absence and presence of other chemical contaminants.Results and Discussions : The number of studies evaluating the effect of microplastics in soil are significantly increasing, and earthworms are being mostly used as the test species. Experimental conditions were divided into two types: Single exposure to microplastics and combined exposure to microplastics and other chemicals. In most studies, changes in the biomarkers which are related to oxidation stress of earthworms were confirmed, and direct damage to intestinal tissues of earthworms was also observed. However, in the case of the changes of the biomarkers of earthworms, their patterns were different depending on the experimental conditions (i.e., concentrations of microplastics and chemicals, microplastics size and type, exposure period, etc.). Also, the avoidance behavior of earthworms and the internal accumulation of microplastics and co-existing chemicals were not consistent among the studies. Thus, the effects of microplastics on earthworms are not clear yet, although they seem to have some adverse effects.Conclusions : This study showed that the interest in the impact of microplastics in the soil environment has been increased recently, and earthworms are being used mostly in the studies. Yet, there is no standardized method to study the effect of microplastics on earthworms. Studies so far confirmed that microplastics induced changes in and outside of earthworm bodies. However, due to various experimental conditions, it seemed that consistent results could not be confirmed in those researches. For that reason, this study suggests that standardized research methods for microplastics researches using earthworms as a test species need to be established and need to be applied to further studies.

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Section: Combined Exposure To Microplastics and Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Combined Exposure To Microplastics and Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Combined Exposure To Microplastics and Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Combined Exposure To Microplastics and Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Current Research Trends on the Effects of Microplastics in Soil Environment Using Earthworms: Mini-Review

Hur¹,

Jho²

2021

J Korean Soc Environ Eng

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show abstract

“…Likewise, microplastic has also been shown to adsorb heavy metals and organic pollutants (Tourinho et al 2019; Verla et al 2019) due to its high surface area-to-volume ratio and potentially charged surfaces. Microplastic may subsequently act as a vector for these contaminants to terrestrial fauna and may increase (Huang et al 2021; Li et al 2021b; Verla et al 2019) or reduce bioavailability (Verla et al 2019; Yu et al 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of fitness effects in the earthworm Eisenia fetida after exposure to single or multiple anthropogenic pollutants

Holzinger

Mair

Luecker

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Terrestrial ecosystems are exposed to many anthropogenic pollutants. Non-target effects of pesticides and fertilizers have put agricultural intensification in the focus as a driver for biodiversity loss. However, other pollutants, such as heavy metals, particulate matter, or microplastic also enter the environment, e.g. via traffic and industrial activities in urban areas. As soil acts as a potential sink for such pollutants, soil invertebrates like earthworms may be particularly affected by them. Under natural conditions soil invertebrates will likely be confronted with combinations of pollutants simultaneously, which may result in stronger negative effects if pollutants act synergistically. Within this work we study how multiple pollutants affect the soil-dwelling, substrate feeding earthworm Eisenia fetida. We compared the effects of the single stressors, polystyrene microplastic fragments, polystyrene fibers, brake dust and soot, with the combined effect of these pollutants when applied as a mixture. Endpoints measured were survival, growth, reproductive fitness, and changes in three oxidative stress markers. We found that among single pollutant treatments, brake dust imposed the strongest negative effects on earthworms in all measured endpoints including increased mortality rates. Sub-lethal effects were found for all pollutants. Exposing earthworms to all four pollutants simultaneously led to effects on mortality and oxidative stress markers that were smaller than expected by the respective null models. These antagonistic effects are likely a result of the adsorption of toxic substances found in brake dust to the other pollutants. With this study we show that effects of combinations of pollutants cannot necessarily be predicted from their individual effects and that combined effects will likely depend on identity and concentration of the pollutants.

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Migration of Microplastic‐Bound Contaminants to Soil and Their Effects

Jaskulak

Zorena

2023

Microplastics in the Ecosphere

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Microplastics aggravate the joint toxicity to earthworm Eisenia fetida with cadmium by altering its availability

Cited by 124 publications

References 54 publications

Current Research Trends on the Effects of Microplastics in Soil Environment Using Earthworms: Mini-Review

Current Research Trends on the Effects of Microplastics in Soil Environment Using Earthworms: Mini-Review

Comparison of fitness effects in the earthworm Eisenia fetida after exposure to single or multiple anthropogenic pollutants

Migration of Microplastic‐Bound Contaminants to Soil and Their Effects

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