Microplastics and anthropogenic fibre concentrations in lakes reflect surrounding land use

Tanentzap, Andrew J.; Cottingham, Samuel; Fonvielle, Jérémy; Riley, Isobel; Walker, Lucy M.; Woodman, Samuel G.; Kontou, Danai; Pichler, Christian M.; Reisner, Erwin; Lebreton, Laurent

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3001389

Cited by 40 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…This value likely underestimated the true difference. Of our study lakes, we previously surveyed 19 for pollution impacts and all were contaminated with microplastics and anthropogenic fibres 37 . Thus, it is likely we detected associated plastic-derived compounds in DOM of these lakes.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plastic pollution fosters more microbial growth in lakes than natural organic matter

et al. 2022

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Plastic debris widely pollutes freshwaters. Abiotic and biotic degradation of plastics releases carbon-based substrates that are available for heterotrophic growth, but little is known about how these novel organic compounds influence microbial metabolism. Here we found leachate from plastic shopping bags was chemically distinct and more bioavailable than natural organic matter from 29 Scandinavian lakes. Consequently, plastic leachate increased bacterial biomass acquisition by 2.29-times when added at an environmentally-relevant concentration to lake surface waters. These results were not solely attributable to the amount of dissolved organic carbon provided by the leachate. Bacterial growth was 1.72-times more efficient with plastic leachate because the added carbon was more accessible than natural organic matter. These effects varied with both the availability of alternate, especially labile, carbon sources and bacterial diversity. Together, our results suggest that plastic pollution may stimulate aquatic food webs and highlight where pollution mitigation strategies could be most effective.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plastic pollution fosters more microbial growth in lakes than natural organic matter

et al. 2022

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“…Microplastics (MP), which originated, above all, from the degradation of plastic in the environment, are recognized as particles of less than 5 mm [24]. They are found in water, which can be oceans or even lakes and rivers [25], soil [26], air [22], and in food [27], particularly in seafood [28,29], sea salt [30,31], and potable water [32,33].…”

Section: The Role Of Microplasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pregnancy in the Era of the Environmental Crisis: Plastic and Pollution

Ragusa¹,

Principi²,

Matta³

2022

Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol.

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Objective:The environmental crisis we are experiencing is becoming a more popular topic of expert discussion and analysis. Human activity and expansion on the planet are exacerbating climate change and global warming, this, together with the increase in plastic production, and general pollution, posing a threat to our resources, supplies, and survival. This research aims to review what is known about the association between pollution and pregnancy and sensitize experts to women's education towards healthier behaviors. Mechanism: We chose to focus on the effects of the environment on fetal development and maternal health, considering various studies that highlight the potential consequences of exposure to certain environmental stressors. The paper briefly illustrates the probable mechanisms that, starting from cellular and intracellular damage, determined above all by plastics, lead to chronic activation of the immune system in response to danger and, therefore, to epigenetic modifications at the base of diseases in adulthood. Findings in Brief: We describe the effects of the main pollutants on pregnancy, with particular attention to the role of plastic. Finally, we briefly outline some individual possible solutions to this complex problem. Conclusions: In the era of environmental crisis, becoming aware of the mechanisms behind biological damage resulting from exposure to certain pollutants and plastics, especially in a period as sensitive as pregnancy, should be the driving force behind a change of direction. As physicians, this means educating our patients and recommending individual solutions to reduce the impact of contaminants to provide the best possible environment for women's and children's health, especially during the delicate period of pregnancy; but the ultimate solution is to drastically reduce global plastic production and pollution, and to recycle the plastic that is needed anyway.

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“…Putative MPs were then compared to a project‐specific contaminant library (described below) and excluded from final analysis if there was a physical (color and shape) and chemical (match score > 90%) match to a contaminant. The final set of putative MPs were assigned as natural (animal or plant‐based cellulose/protein polymers; inorganic materials) or anthropogenic (i.e., manufactured), with anthropogenic items further categorized as synthetic, semi‐synthetic, or naturally derived (Kroon et al 2018 b ; Tanentzap et al 2021).…”

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improved microplastic processing from complex biological samples using a customized vacuum filtration apparatus

Schlawinsky

Santana

Motti

et al. 2022

Limnology & Ocean Methods

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Plastics represent the largest component of marine debris globally. In this context, it is essential to quantify the current extent of plastic pollution, including microplastics (MP; plastics < 5 mm), within marine abiotic and biotic compartments. Despite significant effort, MP studies still face methodological impediments to establish accurate and standardized protocols to separate, process and analyze MPs in environmental samples. Furthermore, underestimation and overestimation of MP contamination, either through loss of MPs or introduction of extraneous MPs during handling and processing, is concerning, particularly when assessing risk profiles for marine ecosystems. Presented here is a custom-made stainless steel vacuum filtration apparatus designed to perform size-tiered separation and facilitate retrieval of MPs from a variety of environmental sample matrices. Incorporating this apparatus into a standard MP workflow achieved efficient graduated separation of commonly found MP fragments and fibers, validated by spike-recovery tests. As a case study, the gastrointestinal tracts of three juvenile Australian sharpnose sharks, Rhizoprionodon taylori, were processed using the filtration apparatus, and 46 anthropogenic items ranging from 0.021 to 8.87 mm were retrieved. This study demonstrates the effective use of the size-tiered stainless steel vacuum filtration apparatus and an improved efficiency in downstream microphotography and spectroscopic analyses of MPs from a complex sample matrix. Finally, it contributes to the MP research field by delivering more reliable estimates of MP contamination in marine ecosystems.

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Microplastics and anthropogenic fibre concentrations in lakes reflect surrounding land use

Cited by 40 publications

References 94 publications

Plastic pollution fosters more microbial growth in lakes than natural organic matter

Plastic pollution fosters more microbial growth in lakes than natural organic matter

Pregnancy in the Era of the Environmental Crisis: Plastic and Pollution

Improved microplastic processing from complex biological samples using a customized vacuum filtration apparatus

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