PET microplastics do not negatively affect the survival, development, metabolism and feeding activity of the freshwater invertebrate Gammarus pulex

Weber, Annkatrin; Scherer, Christian; Brennholt, Nicole; Reifferscheid, Georg; Wagner, Martin

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2017.11.014

Cited by 189 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Microplastics are often similar in size to sediment particles or may resemble a grain of sand. Therefore, it is not surprising that animals in coastal areas, particularly filter feeders, consistently encounter natural particles as well as particles generated by human activity like microplastics (Van Cauwenberghe and Janssen 2014; Weber et al 2018). Usually, if an animal is not able to digest an item, it egests it after some time (Garrett et al 2012;Santana et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding How Microplastics Affect Marine Biota on the Cellular Level Is Important for Assessing Ecosystem Function: A Review

Prinz

Korez

2019

YOUMARES 9 - The Oceans: Our Research, Our Future

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Plastic has become indispensable for human life. When plastic debris is discarded into waterways, these items can interact with organisms. Of particular concern are microscopic plastic particles (microplastics) which are subject to ingestion by several taxa. This review summarizes the results of cutting-edge research about the interactions between a range of aquatic species and microplastics, including effects on biota physiology and secondary ingestion. Uptake pathways via digestive or ventilatory systems are discussed, including (1) the physical penetration of microplastic particles into cellular structures, (2) leaching of chemical additives or adsorbed persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and (3) consequences of bacterial or viral microbiota contamination associated with microplastic ingestion. Following uptake, a number of individual-level effects have been observed, including reduction of feeding activities, reduced growth and reproduction through cellular modifications, and oxidative stress. Microplastic-associated effects on marine biota have become increasingly investigated with growing concerns regarding human health through trophic transfer. We argue that research on the cellular interactions with microplastics provide an understanding of their impact to the organisms' fitness and, therefore, its ability to sustain their functional role in the ecosystem. The review summarizes information from 236 scientific publications. Of those, only 4.6% extrapolate their research of microplastic intake on individual species to the impact on ecosystem functioning. We emphasize the need for risk evaluation from organismal effects to an ecosystem level to effectively evaluate the effect of microplastic pollution on marine environments. Further studies are encouraged to investigate sublethal effects in the context of environmentally relevant microplastic pollution conditions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding How Microplastics Affect Marine Biota on the Cellular Level Is Important for Assessing Ecosystem Function: A Review

Prinz

Korez

2019

YOUMARES 9 - The Oceans: Our Research, Our Future

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“…Null effects were found in the amphipod Gammarus pulex exposed to irregular polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fragments (0.4-4,000 P mL À1 , size 10-150 μm; [31]). After 48 days, MPs did not induce any effects on behavior (feeding activity), metabolism (energy reserves), development (molting), and growth.…”

Section: Other Crustaceansmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The few available studies (Table 2) include the filter feeder D. magna [34,35,41], the amphipods Hyalella azteca [18] and G. pulex [31], the freshwater snail P. antipodarum [38] as well as several fishes [37][38][39]. In this section, the outcomes of these studies are discussed.…”

Section: Effects On Freshwater Biotamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, the majority of the available literature focuses on MP beads, and it remains unclear whether the investigated species have similar feeding rates on non-spherical MPs (e.g., fibers, fragments). Some species (e.g., G. pulex, D. magna, Notodromas monacha) feed readily on secondary, irregularly shaped MPs [17,31] with different toxicological profiles (see Sect. 3.1).…”

Section: Size and Shapementioning

confidence: 99%

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Interactions of Microplastics with Freshwater Biota

Scherer

Weber

Lambert

et al. 2017

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

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The ubiquitous detection of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems promotes the concern for adverse impacts on freshwater ecosystems. The wide variety of material types, sizes, shapes, and physicochemical properties renders interactions with biota via multiple pathways probable.So far, our knowledge about the uptake and biological effects of microplastics comes from laboratory studies, applying simplified exposure regimes (e.g., one polymer and size, spherical shape, high concentrations) often with limited environmental relevance. However, the available data illustrates species-and materialrelated interactions and highlights that microplastics represent a multifaceted stressor. Particle-related toxicities will be driven by polymer type, size, and shape. Chemical toxicity is driven by the adsorption-desorption kinetics of additives and pollutants. In addition, microbial colonization, the formation of heteroaggregates, and the evolutionary adaptations of the biological receptor further increase the complexity of microplastics as stressors. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to synthesize and critically revisit these aspects based on the state of the science in freshwater research. Where unavailable we supplement this with data on marine biota. This provides an insight into the direction of future research.In this regard, the challenge is to understand the complex interactions of biota and plastic materials and to identify the toxicologically most relevant characteristics of the plethora of microplastics. Importantly, as the direct biological impacts of This chapter has been externally peer reviewed.

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“…Hydra attenuata exposure to microplastics can significantly reduce the amount of food intake, and the degree of reduction is negatively significant correlated with the microplastic concentration [54]. In the study of the exposure effect of freshwater invertebrate Gammarus pulex [55], we found that the amount of microplastics in juvenile sample (average total length: 6-9 mm) was higher than that in adult sample (average total length: 12-17 mm). After long-term exposure for more than 48 days, the microplastics had no significant influence on the survival, development (molting), metabolism (glycogen, lipid storage) and feeding activity of G. pulex.…”

Section: Toxicity Of Microplastics Alonementioning

confidence: 83%

Research on ecotoxicology of microplastics on freshwater aquatic organisms

Wang

Liu

et al. 2019

Environmental Pollutants and Bioavailability

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As a new type of pollutant, microplastics are an emerging scientific and social concern in the environment and are widely distributed in the aquatic environment and organism. Nowadays, researches on microplastic pollution mainly focus on the marine environment. As a bridge for the migration of microplastics from the terrestrial environment to the marine environment, the freshwater environment has been deserved more attention. Published articles on microplastics in freshwater environments were reviewed in this paper, and four typical behaviors of microplastics were summarized: biological ingestion, biological attachment, adsorption of pollutants and release of plasticizers. In addition, the progress in research and results on the ecological toxicity of microplastics to freshwater organisms was also analyzed. Finally, emphasis on future research on the toxicity of microplastics to freshwater aquatics organisms was made throughout this review as a tool in microplastic risk assessment research. ARTICLE HISTORY

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PET microplastics do not negatively affect the survival, development, metabolism and feeding activity of the freshwater invertebrate Gammarus pulex

Cited by 189 publications

References 53 publications

Understanding How Microplastics Affect Marine Biota on the Cellular Level Is Important for Assessing Ecosystem Function: A Review

Understanding How Microplastics Affect Marine Biota on the Cellular Level Is Important for Assessing Ecosystem Function: A Review

Interactions of Microplastics with Freshwater Biota

Research on ecotoxicology of microplastics on freshwater aquatic organisms

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