Uptake of microplastics by marine worms depends on feeding mode and particle shape but not exposure time

Porter, Adam H.; Barber, Dan; Hobbs, Catherine; Love, J.D.; Power, Aidan; Bakir, Adil; Galloway, Tamara S.; Lewis, Ceri

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159287

Cited by 17 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Filter feeders are often presented as the functional group most likely to be at risk of microplastic ingestion 50 , 51 due to the high volumes of water they process and the indiscriminate nature of filter feeding 52 . Such evidence, however, is based on a limited range of species and/or polymer types 23 , 53 , 54 . Further, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that the sorting and rejection of particles of specific size ranges or polymers by filter-feeding bivalves may skew uptake data towards the preferred particle size for a given species 55 , 56 , and experimental designs do not always consider the natural setting or the organisms being tested 57 – 59 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mean microplastic concentrations in soft sediment habitats can be close to (continental slope, 502 microplastic kg −1 ), or greatly exceed (hadal trenches, 2782 microplastics kg −1 15 ) estimated safe limits (540 microplastic particles kg −1 16 ), particularly in areas that accumulate organic matter 17 . However, the uptake (here defined as adhesion, entanglement, and/or ingestion) of microplastic by species is unlikely to be a universal function of absolute levels of microplastic contamination or inter-specific differences in body size 18 , 19 because the way in which species interact with the sediment environment is highly dependent on taxonomic position 13 , 20 , 21 , feeding and foraging strategy and individual species behaviours 13 , 20 , 22 , 23 , all of which can be population dependent and modified by abiotic (nutrient enrichment 24 ; flow 25 ; temperature 26 ) and/or biotic (e.g. predation 27 ) circumstances 28 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microplastic burden in marine benthic invertebrates depends on species traits and feeding ecology within biogeographical provinces

Porter,

Godbold,

Lewis

et al. 2023

Nat Commun

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The microplastic body burden of marine animals is often assumed to reflect levels of environmental contamination, yet variations in feeding ecology and regional trait expression could also affect a species’ risk of contaminant uptake. Here, we explore the global inventory of individual microplastic body burden for invertebrate species inhabiting marine sediments across 16 biogeographic provinces. We show that individual microplastic body burden in benthic invertebrates cannot be fully explained by absolute levels of microplastic contamination in the environment, because interspecific differences in behaviour and feeding ecology strongly determine microplastic uptake. Our analyses also indicate a degree of species-specific particle selectivity; likely associated with feeding biology. Highest microplastic burden occurs in the Yellow and Mediterranean Seas and, contrary to expectation, amongst omnivores, predators, and deposit feeders rather than suspension feeding species. Our findings highlight the inadequacy of microplastic uptake risk assessments based on inventories of environmental contamination alone, and the need to understand how species behaviour and trait expression covary with microplastic contamination.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastic burden in marine benthic invertebrates depends on species traits and feeding ecology within biogeographical provinces

Porter,

Godbold,

Lewis

et al. 2023

Nat Commun

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“…Therefore, MPs that differ in shape will always differ in some of their properties (e.g., morphology, crystallinity), although they are made of the same material. The shape of MPs has been mainly linked to ecotoxicological effects when MPs are ingested by animals 13,[15][16][17][18][19] , however, as shown here, the shape is also an important factor when considering other interactions with aquatic organisms such as bioadhesion (Table 2). In fact, fragments were the only shape of MPs that had an effect on the roots of aquatic plants (Fig.…”

Section: Biofoulingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Small MPs have been shown to be more mobile in sediments, so size can also affect their fate in the environment 14 .In addition, MPs exist in various shapes, such as spheres, fragments, films, and fibers, however shape-dependent interactions and ecotoxicological effects are not well known. Some researchers have focused on the shapedependent ingestion of MPs, their retention in the digestive tract, and the resulting ecotoxicological effects 13,[15][16][17][18][19] . In addition, Zhang and Choi 20 investigated a shape-dependent drag model for settling velocity of MPs.…”

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confidence: 99%

Insights into the shape-dependent effects of polyethylene microplastics on interactions with organisms, environmental aging, and adsorption properties

Rozman,

Klun,

Kuljanin

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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The shape-dependent effects of microplastics have been studied in the context of ingestion but have not been considered in other environmental processes. Therefore, we investigated how the shape of polyethylene microplastics (spheres, fragments, and films) affects interactions with plants, aging, and their adsorption properties. The shape had no effect on the growth rate and chlorophyll content of duckweed Lemna minor, but the fragments strongly adhered to the plant biomass and reduced the root length. The adsorption process of the model organic compound (methylene blue dye) was described by the same kinetic model for all shapes—the experimental data best fit the pseudo-second order model. However, twice as much methylene blue was adsorbed on films as on fragments and spheres. During environmental aging, most biofilm developed on films. The biofilm on spheres contained significantly less photosynthetic microorganisms, but twice as much extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) as on fragments and films. This suggests that the attachment of microorganisms to spherical particles is limited and therefore more intensive production of EPS is required for stable biofilm formation. From the results of this study, it is evident that the shape of microplastics significantly affects not only ecotoxicity but also other environmentally relevant processes.

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Ingestion of microplastics and microfibers by the invasive blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun 1896) in the Balearic Islands, Spain

Compa,

Perelló,

Box

et al. 2023

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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The blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 is native to the western coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and is currently considered an invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, we examined the stomach contents of C. sapidus to determine the frequency of occurrence of microplastics (MPs) and microfibers (MFs) in the Balearic Islands archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea. A total of 120 individuals were collected from six locations between 2017 and 2020. Overall, 65.8% of the individuals had MPs and/or MFs particles with an average of 1.4 ± 1.6 particles ind.−1 of which an average of 1.0 ± 1.3 items ind.−1 were MFs and an average of 0.4 ± 0.8 items ind.−1 were MPs. In terms of type, fragments were the dominant type of MPs and the most common size of items ranged from between 0.5 and 1 mm (40%) followed by 1–5 mm (31%). The most prevalent polymers were low-density polyethylene (39%) and high-density polyethylene (26%). In terms of links to human activities, MP ingestion was positively correlated with an increase in drain pipes, whereas MF ingestion was positively correlated with an increase in sewage pipelines, providing evidence of potential sources and the bioavailability of these particles in various environments. This study confirms the widespread presence of MP and MF particles, even in areas that are currently managed under different protection statuses, in the stomach contents of invasive blue crab species throughout coastal communities.

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Uptake of microplastics by marine worms depends on feeding mode and particle shape but not exposure time

Cited by 17 publications

References 46 publications

Microplastic burden in marine benthic invertebrates depends on species traits and feeding ecology within biogeographical provinces

Microplastic burden in marine benthic invertebrates depends on species traits and feeding ecology within biogeographical provinces

Insights into the shape-dependent effects of polyethylene microplastics on interactions with organisms, environmental aging, and adsorption properties

Ingestion of microplastics and microfibers by the invasive blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun 1896) in the Balearic Islands, Spain

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