Microplastics and plankton: Knowledge from laboratory and field studies to distinguish contamination from pollution

Rodrigues, Sabrina M.; Elliott, Michael; Almeida, C. Marisa R.; Ramos, Sandra

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126057

Cited by 47 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 146 publications

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“…Laboratory studies show that Effect Concentrations (ECs) of MPs on the main planktonic groups (phytoplankton, zooplankton, meroplankton and ichthyoplankton) are usually >2.0 × 10 8 MP m − 3 (>200 MP mL − 1 ) (e.g., Cole et al, 2013;Lee et al, 2013;Setälä et al, 2014;Vroom et al, 2017;Jeong et al, 2017;Choi et al, 2020;Rodrigues et al, 2021). Therefore, based on the ECs observed in laboratory studies, the concentrations of MPs found in surface waters of Danish marine waters (<1.0 × 10 2 MP m − 3 ) six orders of magnitude lower are not expected to cause any impact on the planktonic food web.…”

Section: Ecological Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundance and distribution of microplastics in surface waters of the Kattegat/ Skagerrak (Denmark)

Gunaalan

Almeda

Lorenz

et al. 2023

Environmental Pollution

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Section: Ecological Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundance and distribution of microplastics in surface waters of the Kattegat/ Skagerrak (Denmark)

Gunaalan

Almeda

Lorenz

et al. 2023

Environmental Pollution

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“…Microplastics can in uence chlorophyll content and lower the photosynthetic activity of phytoplankton which can potentially impair the marine biological pump. In response to microplastic exposure, laboratory investigations revealed decreased enzyme activity, low lipid content, and structural alterations in phytoplankton (Rodrigues et al 2021).…”

Section: Planktonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zooplankton feeds mostly on surface waters in which high concentrations of microplastics have been detected, with high microplastic concentrations, which increases the chances of interaction and ingestion (Rodrigues et al 2021). Due to similar sizes, zooplankton can confuse microplastics with their natural prey, phytoplankton or marine snow, and consume microplastics.…”

Section: Planktonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Present and future: the effects and possible solutions of microplastics in the marine/aquatic environment

Sharma

Prakash

B.R

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Anthropogenic activities have degraded the marine ecosystem badly, among which microplastic (MPs) is the primary cause. The use of MPs is increasing at extraordinary haste while the recycling and reuse are very low. They are dumped in water bodies that sequentially enter the marine ecosystem. Recently scientists have observed the presence of MPs in various tissues such as the gastrointestinal tract and some immune organs. The major problem arises when it affects the human population severely. The consumption of MPs-affected fish cause accumulation in the food chain resulting in biomagnification. It affects human health by interfering with the gut microbiome, immune response, etc. We can decrease the impact of MPs by reducing their production and detecting them in aqua-consuming organisms. There are different techniques to diagnose the concentration of MPs inside marine organisms before processing. Removal of the gut of marine food organisms before consumption is also an excellent way to reduce the impact of MPs on health, but it is not possible for small fish. So, some limits should be applied to impose the production of MPs and enhance the use of biodegradable products for human health considerations. Some protocols should be set on the boundary of MPs’ concentration for fish marketing and processing.

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“…11,12 Another important issue is that existing studies did not reflect the environmentally realistic levels of MP contamination in the agricultural soils and have often used excessively high concentrations and sizes of MPs that were unrelated to those observed in field conditions. 13 Therefore, to understand the actual effects of MPs on soil organisms, studies on environmentally relevant sizes and concentrations of soil MPs are required to bridge the gap between laboratory and field scenarios. So far, the studies have been mostly limited to the changes at the individual level, such as growth or enzyme activity, while the molecular mechanism and the toxicity of MPs have not been adequately assessed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics - Back to Reality: Impact of Pristine and Aged Microplastics in Soil on Earthworm Eisenia fetida under Environmentally Relevant Conditions

Jiang,

Cao,

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Recently, studies have highlighted the potential danger for soil organisms posed by film-derived microplastics (MPs). However, the majority of those does not accurately reflect the field conditions and the degree of MP contamination that can be found in actual settings. To fill the gap between laboratory and field scenarios, the polyethylene (PE) plastic film was made into PE-MPs and aged. Toxicity and molecular mechanisms of pristine PE-MPs (PMPs) and aged PE-MPs (AMPs) with the concentration at 500 mg/kg of dry weight were determined after 14 days of exposure by measuring the oxidative stress, osmoregulation pressure, gut microbiota, and metabolic responses in earthworms under environmentally relevant conditions. Our research showed that, when compared to PMPs (13.13 ± 1.99 items/g), AMPs accumulated more (16.19 ± 8.47 items/g), caused more severe tissue lesions, and caused a higher increase of cell membrane osmotic pressure in earthworms' intestines. Furthermore, the proportion of probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus johnsonii in the gut bacterial communities was 24.26%, 23.26%, and 12.96%, while the proportion of pathogenic bacteria of the phylum Verrucomicrobia was 2.28%, 4.79%, and 10.39% in the control and PMP-and AMP-exposed earthworms, indicating that the decrease in number of probiotic bacteria and the increase in number of pathogenic bacteria were more pronounced in the gut of AMP-rather than PMP-exposed earthworms. Metabolomic analysis showed that AMP exposure reduced earthworm energy metabolites. Consequently, the constant need for energy may result in protein catabolism, which raises levels of some amino acids, disturbs normal cell homeostasis, causes changes of cell membrane osmolarity, and destroys the cell structure. Our studies showed that aged MPs, with the same characteristics as those found in the environment, have greater toxicity than pristine MPs. The results of this study broaden our understanding of the toxicological effects of MPs on soil organisms under environmentally relevant conditions.

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Microplastics and plankton: Knowledge from laboratory and field studies to distinguish contamination from pollution

Cited by 47 publications

References 146 publications

Abundance and distribution of microplastics in surface waters of the Kattegat/ Skagerrak (Denmark)

Abundance and distribution of microplastics in surface waters of the Kattegat/ Skagerrak (Denmark)

Present and future: the effects and possible solutions of microplastics in the marine/aquatic environment

Microplastics - Back to Reality: Impact of Pristine and Aged Microplastics in Soil on Earthworm Eisenia fetida under Environmentally Relevant Conditions

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