Reality Check: Experimental Studies on Microplastics Lack Realism

Weis, Judith S.; Palmquist, Karl H.

doi:10.3390/app11188529

Cited by 23 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 95 publications

(117 reference statements)

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“…There is, therefore, significant research required to fully elucidate their presence in these highly diverse ecosystems. Before we can accurately [ 171 ] determine the impacts MNPs are having we need to first determine their exposure. To be able to do this technical limitations need to be overcome to allow the more accurate assessment of MNPs in environmental samples, and internationally agreed standard methods are required to enable accurate comparisons between studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics: impacts on corals and other reef organisms

Pantos

2022

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences

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Plastic pollution in a growing problem globally. In addition to the continuous flow of plastic particles to the environment from direct sources, and through the natural wear and tear of items, the plastics that are already there have the potential to breakdown further and therefore provide an immense source of plastic particles. With the continued rise in levels of plastic production, and consequently increasing levels entering our marine environments it is imperative that we understand its impacts. There is evidence microplastic and nanoplastic (MNP) pose a serious threat to all the world's marine ecosystems and biota, across all taxa and trophic levels, having individual- to ecosystem-level impacts, although these impacts are not fully understood. Microplastics (MPs; 0.1–5 mm) have been consistently found associated with the biota, water and sediments of all coral reefs studied, but due to limitations in the current techniques, a knowledge gap exists for the level of nanoplastic (NP; <1 µm). This is of particular concern as it is this size fraction that is thought to pose the greatest risk due to their ability to translocate into different organs and across cell membranes. Furthermore, few studies have examined the interactions of MNP exposure and other anthropogenic stressors such as ocean acidification and rising temperature. To support the decision-making required to protect these ecosystems, an advancement in standardised methods for the assessment of both MP and NPs is essential. This knowledge, and that of predicted levels can then be used to determine potential impacts more accurately.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics: impacts on corals and other reef organisms

Pantos

2022

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences

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“…Most studies on microplastic uptake and effects in freshwater organisms take place under small-scale controlled laboratory conditions [16,40,41] which, although accurate through standardization and replicability, cannot reflect complex environmental situations [21,42]. The samples studied in this work are from a large mesocosm facility, where experiments can be conducted under near-natural field conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fate and effects of microplastics in aquatic organisms and ecosystems are very complex and research to date has been limited primarily to laboratory studies. In such experiments, exposure time, food choices, and many other parameters often do not correspond to a real-world scenario in the environment, making it difficult to draw conclusions about the possible effects of microplastics on a population level [21,22]. Mesocosms are a more realistic completion to single-species exposure experiments in the laboratory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uptake and Transfer of Polyamide Microplastics in a Freshwater Mesocosm Study

Michler-Kozma

Kruckenfellner²,

Heitkamp

et al. 2022

Water

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Steadily increasing inputs of microplastics pose a growing threat to aquatic fauna, but laboratory studies potentially lack realism to properly investigate its effects on populations and ecosystems. Our study investigates the trophic and ontogenetic transfer of microplastics in a near-natural exposure scenario. The controlled outdoor freshwater mesocosms were exposed to polyamide (PA) 5–50 µm in size in concentrations of 15 and 150 mg L−1 and a control without microplastic addition. To verify the uptake of particles via the food chain, larvae and imagines of the midges Chaoborus crystallinus and C. obscuripes were examined, which feed on zooplankton during their larval stage. Larvae were captured after 117 days and imagines were caught in emergence traps that were emptied weekly. To detect the microparticles within the organisms, 200 larvae and 100 imagines per application were macerated and treated with fluorescent dye before investigation under a fluorescent microscope. We could detect up to 12 PA particles per individual larvae, while nearly no plastic was found in the imagines. This shows that, while Chaoborus sp. takes up microplastics via predation, most of the pollutant is egested through regurgitation and remains in the water, where it can further accumulate and potentially harm other organisms.

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“…A frequent criticism of MP effect studies is that exposure is not conducted under environmentally relevant conditions (i.e., concentration, duration, experimental set-up (incl. route of exposure)) (Weis and Palmquist, 2021), and that observed effects might therefore not be representative of what happens in the environment. The literature search revealed scarcity of experimental studies conducted using contaminated sediments.…”

Section: No Effect Of Mps At Environmentally Realistic Exposure Scena...mentioning

confidence: 98%

Sediment matters as a route of microplastic exposure: A call for more research on the benthic compartment

et al. 2023

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Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in the marine environment. Here, most MPs are expected to sink, either due to polymer density or environmental processes, such as biofouling, leading to sediment being proposed to act as a final sink for marine MPs. There is a discrepancy between the anticipated accumulation of MPs in the sediment compartment and the MP experiments conducted, since most MP effect studies have been conducted with pelagic species using water-only exposures. Here we address fundamental questions in relation to MP pollution to close the knowledge gap related hereto. A systematic literature search was performed to address these questions. We found that benthic invertebrates ingest MPs and that, even though these organisms evolutionary are adapted to handle particles, adverse effects may be observed upon ingestion of MPs. The analysis further revealed that there is a major knowledge gap on the impacts of sediment-associated MPs in marine, benthic invertebrates. To facilitate further and structured research within this topic, we recommend more studies with emphasis on the sediment as an important exposure pathway, and to focus on sediment-associated MP effects on benthic invertebrates. We recommend studies with ecological relevant exposure concentrations and ecological relevant exposure durations with emphasis on impacts on population- and community-level to reduce the knowledge gap within this central area of MP pollution research.

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Reality Check: Experimental Studies on Microplastics Lack Realism

Cited by 23 publications

References 95 publications

Microplastics: impacts on corals and other reef organisms

Microplastics: impacts on corals and other reef organisms

Uptake and Transfer of Polyamide Microplastics in a Freshwater Mesocosm Study

Sediment matters as a route of microplastic exposure: A call for more research on the benthic compartment

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