Microplastics in the Arctic: A case study with sub-surface water and fish samples off Northeast Greenland

Morgana, Silvia; Ghigliotti, Laura; Estévez-Calvar, Noelia; Stifanese, Roberto; Wieckzorek, Alina; Doyle, Thomas K.; Christiansen, Jørgen S.; Faimali, Marco; Garaventa, Francesca

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2018.08.001

Cited by 241 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Field studies support this finding, with MP body burden being higher in pelagic fish species compared to demersal species irrespective of trophic level [50]. MP bioaccumulation in fish larvae from the English Channel [53] were also higher compared to adult fish from the Arctic [52], despite similar levels of MP contamination in surrounding waters. This likely reflects their feeding strategies with fish larvae filter-feeding continuously and unselectively on suspended particulate matter [53,107], and adult Triglops nybelini and Boreogadus saida being selective predators that feed with a striking manner [36].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 62%

“…Only five studies reported environmental MP contamination levels alongside organism contamination (Table 1). Overall, MP contamination in surrounding environments appear to be much higher than in the polychaete worms Glycera alba and Diopatra neapolitana [48], the shrimp Crangon affinis [49], and in various fish species [50,52]. Only one study found comparable levels of MP contamination in both surrounding waters (range: 0.26 to 3.79 MPs m -3 ) and in fish larvae (range: 0.02 to 4.8 MPs individual -1 , n = 156) [53].…”

Section: Contamination In Tertiary Consumersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of microplastics in marine organisms: A review and meta-analysis of current data

2020

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Microplastic (MP) contamination has been well documented across a range of habitats and for a large number of organisms in the marine environment. Consequently, bioaccumulation, and in particular biomagnification of MPs and associated chemical additives, are often inferred to occur in marine food webs. Presented here are the results of a systematic literature review to examine whether current, published findings support the premise that MPs and associated chemical additives bioaccumulate and biomagnify across a general marine food web. First, field and laboratory-derived contamination data on marine species were standardised by sample size from a total of 116 publications. Second, following assignment of each species to one of five main trophic levels, the average uptake of MPs and of associated chemical additives was estimated across all species within each level. These uptake data within and across the five trophic levels were then critically examined for any evidence of bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Findings corroborate previous studies that MP bioaccumulation occurs within each trophic level, while current evidence around bioaccumulation of associated chemical additives is much more ambiguous. In contrast, MP biomagnification across a general marine food web is not supported by current field observations, while results from the few laboratory studies supporting trophic transfer are hampered by using unrealistic exposure conditions. Further, a lack of both field and laboratory data precludes an examination of potential trophic transfer and biomagnification of chemical additives associated with MPs. Combined, these findings indicate that, although bioaccumulation of MPs occurs within trophic levels, no clear sign of MP biomagnification in situ was observed at the higher trophic levels. Recommendations for future studies to focus on investigating ingestion, retention and depuration rates for MPs and chemical additives under environmentally realistic conditions, and on examining the potential of multi-level trophic transfer for MPs and chemical additives have been made.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 62%

Section: Contamination In Tertiary Consumersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of microplastics in marine organisms: A review and meta-analysis of current data

2020

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“…However, when individual ice cores were considered, core 8 was the only ice core for which there was a significant negative correlation between microplastic concentration and sub-section depth (Spearman's Rank Correlation, rho = −0.74, p-value = 0.001). For certain ice cores (3,6,7,8,23) it was also apparent that microplastic concentration was comparatively higher in certain upper sub-sections of the core (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Vertical Distribution Of Microplastics In Sea Ice Coresmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…In the Arctic Ocean, dominant under-ice fauna are the gammarid amphipods while sub-ice fauna include various species of copepods and fish such as the polar cod (Boreogadus saida) and Arctic cod (Arctogadus glacialis) 37 . Recently, microplastic fragments were reported in the stomachs of polar cod sampled from waters in the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean and north of Svalbard 13 and in the digestive tracts of polar cod sampled in Arctic waters east of Greenland 6 . Based on the fact that interactions can potentially occur between marine organisms and microplastics in the Arctic Ocean, laboratory experiments are needed to elucidate the impact of those interactions with polar organisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in sea ice and seawater beneath ice floes from the Arctic Ocean

Kanhai

Gårdfeldt

Krumpen

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

218

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Within the past decade, an alarm was raised about microplastics in the remote and seemingly pristine Arctic Ocean. To gain further insight about the issue, microplastic abundance, distribution and composition in sea ice cores (n = 25) and waters underlying ice floes (n = 22) were assessed in the Arctic Central Basin (ACB). Potential microplastics were visually isolated and subsequently analysed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy. Microplastic abundance in surface waters underlying ice floes (0-18 particles m −3) were orders of magnitude lower than microplastic concentrations in sea ice cores (2-17 particles L −1). No consistent pattern was apparent in the vertical distribution of microplastics within sea ice cores. Backward drift trajectories estimated that cores possibly originated from the Siberian shelves, western Arctic and central Arctic. Knowledge about microplastics in environmental compartments of the Arctic Ocean is important in assessing the potential threats posed by microplastics to polar organisms. Within the past decade, microplastic pollution emerged as an issue of concern in the Arctic Ocean due to the discovery of these contaminants in its sea ice 1,2 , surface and sub-surface waters 3-8 , deep sea sediments 9-11 , biota 4,6,12,13 and mostly recently its snow 14. Of the environmental compartments in this remote oceanic basin, it was shown that sea ice can function as a temporal sink, a secondary source and a transport medium for microplastics 1,2. Historically, however, observational records of 'dirty ice' , examination of Arctic ice cores, laboratory-based experiments and modelling studies were the first to highlight the potential for sea ice in the Arctic Ocean to trap, transport and redistribute sediments and various contaminants (i.e. metals, organochlorines, organophosphates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) 15-27. Microplastics (plastic particles <5 mm in diameter) were first discovered in subsections of 4 ice cores retrieved from various locations in the Arctic Ocean 1. In this initial study, a total of 6 types of synthetic polymers were reported in the ice cores and microplastic concentrations in Arctic sea ice were estimated (based on extrapolations) to be between (1.3-9.6) × 10 4 particles m −3. A second study 2 , subsequently examined 5 sea ice cores from the Arctic Ocean, reported on the presence of smaller (<100 µm in diameter), more diverse types of synthetic polymers (n = 17) and estimated (based on extrapolations) microplastic concentrations in Arctic sea ice to range between (1.1 × 10 6)-(1.2 × 10 7) particles m −3. Both studies 1,2 , while limited in scale and extent, collectively suggested that sea ice can function as a sink, source and transport medium for microplastics in the Arctic Ocean. Within this remote oceanic basin, microplastic entrapment within sea ice potentially occurs during sea ice formation and drift while microplastic release occurs upon the melting of sea ice 1,2,14. In the Arctic Ocean, while sea ice formation occurs over the central Arcti...

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“…Reported FO% of microlitter was lower in fish as compared to invertebrates. Values are for example 3-18% for Arctic polar cod species (Kuhn et al 2018;Morgana et al 2018). Sample preparation, such as digestion of the entire GI-tract, or analysis of the content only, and detection methods, such as visual inspection or chemical identification, will probably have an impact on such numbers.…”

Section: Microlitter In Seafood Seafood Exposure and Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surveillance of Seafood for Microplastics

Kögel¹,

Refosco²,

Maage³

2020

Handbook of Microplastics in the Environment

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Surveillance of seafood for microplastic is in high demand, but there are challenges in the establishment of appropriate methods. Even though there are more than hundred scientific publications presenting numbers about the occurrence of plastics in seafood organisms, currently, these numbers are largely not comparable and afflicted with high uncertainty. They represent rather pioneering work, than surveillance. The research field is developing rapidly, continuously challenging and updating definitions and descriptions on the location, quality and quantity of microplastic. A major reason behind those challenges is of a new type, due to the particular nature of this pollutant, as opposed to other previously analyzed pollutants, which are soluble. When dealing with particle uptake into organisms, we claim that it is pivotal to take into account the size and shape of the particles. Most often, only plastic particles above several hundred μm and only from the gastrointestinal tract were included in field studies, typically leading to observations of on average 0-3 particles per fish. However, for both seafood organisms and human health, plastic particles in edible tissue are of higher concern, than those passing through the gastrointestinal system. According to exposure studies, the size of microlitter particles that are most likely to be transported into tissue and have accumulation potential, is lower than 50 μm. The few publications investigating the smaller size classes and tissues, do detect and report microlitter contamination, and therefore, warrant further investigation. Additionally, appropriate quality control needs to be included, and measurement uncertainties assessed.

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Microplastics in the Arctic: A case study with sub-surface water and fish samples off Northeast Greenland

Cited by 241 publications

References 61 publications

Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of microplastics in marine organisms: A review and meta-analysis of current data

Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of microplastics in marine organisms: A review and meta-analysis of current data

Microplastics in sea ice and seawater beneath ice floes from the Arctic Ocean

Surveillance of Seafood for Microplastics

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