Trophic level transfer of microplastic: Mytilus edulis (L.) to Carcinus maenas (L.)
Abstract
This study investigated the trophic transfer of microplastic from mussels to crabs. Mussels (Mytilus edulis) were exposed to 0.5 μm fluorescent polystyrene microspheres, then fed to crabs (Carcinus maenas). Tissue samples were then taken at intervals up to 21 days. The number of microspheres in the haemolymph of the crabs was highest at 24 h (15 033 ml(-1) ± SE 3146), and was almost gone after 21 days (267 ml(-1) ± SE 120). The maximum amount of microspheres in the haemolymph was 0.04% of the amount to which the mussels were exposed. Microspheres were also found in the stomach, hepatopancreas, ovary and gills of the crabs, in decreasing numbers over the trial period. This study is the first to show 'natural' trophic transfer of microplastic, and its translocation to haemolymph and tissues of a crab. This has implications for the health of marine organisms, the wider food web and humans.
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Studies have established trophic transfer of microplastics in natural-like laboratory settings.
“Studies have also established trophic transfer of microplastics in natural-like laboratory settings [16, 27].”
From Modelling microplastic bioaccumulation and biomagnification potential in the Galápagos penguin ecosystem using Ecopath and Ecosim (EwE) with Ecotracer (2024) · cites this paper as [27]
Trophic transfer of MPs and associated chemical additives in marine ecosystems is seldom investigated in detail.
“While inferred within the literature (Farrell and Nelson, 2013; Nelms et al., 2018), trophic transfer of MPs and associated chemical additives in marine ecosystems is seldom investigated in detail (Miller et al., 2020).”
From Trophic transfer of polyester microfibres across a multi-level marine food web. (2025) · cites this paper as Farrell and Nelson, 2013
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Long, M., Moriceau, B., Gallinari, M., Lambert, C., Huvet, A., Raffray, J., & Soudant, P. (2015) · Marine Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2015.04.003 · Cited by 711 · see citing works
Incorporation of microplastics from litter into burrows of Lumbricus terrestris
Lwanga, E. H., Gertsen, H., Gooren, H., Peters, P., Salánki, T., van der Ploeg, M. J., Besseling, E., Koelmans, A. A., & Geissen, V. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.09.096 · Cited by 724 · see citing works
Microplastics in the Marine Environment: Distribution, Interactions and Effects
Lusher, A. (2015) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16510-3_10 · Cited by 696 · see citing works
“In feeding experiments, Farrell and Nelson (2013) identified microplastic in the gut and haemolymph of the shore crab (Carcinus maenas), which had previously been ingested by blue mussels (Mytilus edulis).”
BackgroundMarine Litter Distribution and Density in European Seas, from the Shelves to Deep Basins
Pham, C. K., Ramírez-Llodra, E., Alt, C. H. S., Amaro, T., Bergmann, M., Canals, M., Davies, J. S., Duineveld, G., Galgani, F., Howell, K. L., et al. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0095839 · Cited by 694 · see citing works
Tagg, A. S., Sapp, M., Harrison, J. P., & Ojeda, J. J. (2015) · Analytical Chemistry · doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.5b00495 · Cited by 689 · see citing works
Microplastics Alter the Properties and Sinking Rates of Zooplankton Faecal Pellets
Cole, M., Lindeque, P. K., Fileman, E., Clark, J., Lewis, C., Halsband, C., & Galloway, T. S. (2016) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b05905 · Cited by 683 · see citing works
Burns, E. E., & Boxall, A. B. A. (2018) · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · doi:10.1002/etc.4268 · Cited by 713 · see citing works
Plastic Pollution and Potential Solutions
Rhodes, C. J. (2018) · Science Progress · doi:10.3184/003685018x15294876706211 · Cited by 683 · see citing works
A meta-analysis of the effects of exposure to microplastics on fish and aquatic invertebrates
Foley, C. J., Feiner, Z. S., Malinich, T. D., & Höök, T. O. (2018) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.046 · Cited by 670 · see citing works
Polystyrene microplastics induced male reproductive toxicity in mice
Jin, H., Ma, T., Sha, X., Liu, Z., Zhou, Y., Meng, X., Chen, Y., Han, X., & Ding, J. (2020) · Journal of Hazardous Materials · doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123430 · Cited by 666 · see citing works
Miller, M. E., Hamann, M., & Kroon, F. J. (2020) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240792 · Cited by 657 · see citing works
“In laboratory experiments, trophic transfer has been reported from the mussel Mytilus edulis to the crab Carcinus maenas [4, 73]; however, it is unclear whether this resulted in biomagnification as MP presence in either prey or predator was not quantified.”
BackgroundMethodResultEffects of micro- and nanoplastics on aquatic ecosystems: Current research trends and perspectives
Chae, Y., & An, Y. (2017) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.01.070 · Cited by 652 · see citing works
Plastic Ingestion by Pelagic and Demersal Fish from the North Sea and Baltic Sea
Rummel, C. D., Löder, M. G. J., Fricke, N. F., Lang, T., Griebeler, E.-M., Janke, M., & Gerdts, G. (2016) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.043 · Cited by 632 · see citing works
Amelia, T. S. M., Khalik, W. M. A. W. M., Ong, M. C., Shao, Y. T., Pan, H.-J., & Bhubalan, K. (2021) · Progress in Earth and Planetary Science · doi:10.1186/s40645-020-00405-4 · Cited by 641 · see citing works
“Ingested microplastic could either be transferred up the trophic levels via predation (Farrell and Nelson 2013) or be egested from the food web and then very likely be re-ingested (Mazurais et al. 2015).”
BackgroundReview of micro- and nanoplastic contamination in the food chain
Toussaint, B., Raffael, B., Angers-Loustau, A., Gilliland, D., Kestens, V., Petrillo, M., Rio-Echevarria, I. M., & Van den Eede, G. (2019) · Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A · doi:10.1080/19440049.2019.1583381 · Cited by 643 · see citing works
“…the capacity of marine species to eat microplastics (Xu et al. 2017; Ward et al. 2003; Wegner et al. 2012; von Moos et al. 2012; Köhler 2010; Farrell and Nelson 2013; Browne et al. 2008; Ward and Tagart 1989; Ward and Kach 2009; Claessens et al. 2013; Kolandhasamy et al. 2018; Sussarellu et…”
BackgroundMicroplastics in aquatic environments: implications for Canadian ecosystems
Anderson, J. C., Park, B. J., & Palace, V. P. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.06.074 · Cited by 624 · see citing works
“Once ingested, these particles can be transferred to higher trophic levels (Murray and Cowie, 2011; Farrell and Nelson, 2013; Set€ al€ a et al., 2014; de S a et al., 2015).”
BackgroundInfluentialOccurrence of microplastics in commercial fish from a natural estuarine environment
Bessa, F., Barría, P., Neto, J. M., Frias, J. P. G. L., Otero, V., Sobral, P., & Marques, J. C. (2018) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.01.044 · Cited by 622 · see citing works
Yu, P., Liu, Z., Wu, D., Chen, M., Lv, W., & Zhao, Y. (2018) · Aquatic Toxicology · doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2018.04.015 · Cited by 610 · see citing works
Fischer, E. K., Paglialonga, L., Czech, E., & Tamminga, M. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.03.012 · Cited by 610 · see citing works
Quality Criteria for the Analysis of Microplastic in Biota Samples: A Critical Review
Hermsen, E., Mintenig, S., Besseling, E., & Koelmans, A. (2018) · Environmental Science and Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.8b01611 · Cited by 520 · see citing works
Using mussel as a global bioindicator of coastal microplastic pollution
Li, J., Lusher, A., Rotchell, J. M., Deudero, S., Turra, A., Bråte, I. L. N., Sun, C., Hossain, M. S., Li, Q., Kolandhasamy, P., et al. (2018) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2018.10.032 · Cited by 606 · see citing works
“…ingest microplastics and there are differences in intestinal retention 407 times for microplastics of different characteristic during this process (Farrell and Nelson, 2013; 408 Ward and Kach, 2009), a stable abundance in mussels make it easier to build relationship with 409 that in the…”
BackgroundWang, W., Gao, H. J., Jin, S., Li, R., & Na, G. (2019) · Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.01.113 · Cited by 609 · see citing works
“In addition, as microplastics continue to breakdown into smaller particles, the possibility for these tiny plastics to penetrate into the circulatory systems and phagocytic cells of exposed organisms increases, which may thereby introduce additional harm to the organisms due to long-term retention of microplastics in…”
InfluentialIngestion of microplastics by demersal fish from the Spanish Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts
Bellas, J., Martínez-Armental, J., Martínez-Cámara, A., Besada, V., & Martínez-Gómez, C. (2016) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.026 · Cited by 602 · see citing works
Microplastics in surface waters and sediments of the Wei River, in the northwest of China
Ding, L., Mao, R., Guo, X., Yang, X., Zhang, Q., & Yang, C. (2019) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.332 · Cited by 598 · see citing works
Microplastics and seafood: lower trophic organisms at highest risk of contamination
Walkinshaw, C., Lindeque, P. K., Thompson, R. C., Tolhurst, T. J., & Cole, M. (2019) · Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.110066 · Cited by 605 · see citing works
“Transfer to tissues, organs and the circulatory system has been seen in laboratory studies in crabs (Farrell and Nelson, 2013; Watts et al. , 2014; Brennecke et al. , 2015), bivalves (Browne et al. , 2008; Von Moos, Burkhardt-Holm and Köhler, 2012; Al-Sid-Cheikh et al. , 2018) and fish (Avio, Gorbi…”
Adsorption of trace metals by microplastic pellets in fresh water
Turner, A., & Holmes, L. (2015) · Environmental Chemistry · doi:10.1071/en14143 · Cited by 595 · see citing works
Villarrubia-Gómez, P., Cornell, S. E., & Fabres, J. (2018) · Marine Policy · doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2017.11.035 · Cited by 588 · see citing works
McCormick, A. R., Hoellein, T. J., London, M. G., Hittie, J., Scott, J. W., & Kelly, J. J. (2016) · Ecosphere · doi:10.1002/ecs2.1556 · Cited by 593 · see citing works
“…microplastic (Browne et al. 2008, Lusher et al. 2012, 2015, Cole et al. 2013, Goldstein and Goodwin 2013, De Witte et al. 2014, Van Cauwenberghe and Janssen 2014), and microplastic can be transferred from prey to predators (Murray and Cowie 2011, Farrell and Nelson 2013, Setälä et al. 2014).”
BackgroundMicroplastics in aquatic environments: Toxicity to trigger ecological consequences
Ma, H., Pu, S., Liu, S., Bai, Y., Mandal, S., & Xing, B. (2020) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114089 · Cited by 597 · see citing works
Zhang, K., Xiong, X., Hu, H., Wu, C., Bi, Y., Wu, Y., Zhou, B., Lam, P. K. S., & Liu, J. (2017) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b00369 · Cited by 577 · see citing works
Bradney, L., Wijesekara, H., Palansooriya, K. N., Obadamudalige, N. L., Bolan, N. S., Ok, Y. S., Rinklebe, J., Kim, K., & Kirkham, M. B. (2019) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.104937 · Cited by 570 · see citing works
Quantifying ecological risks of aquatic micro- and nanoplastic
Besseling, E., Redondo-Hasselerharm, P., Foekema, E. M., & Koelmans, A. A. (2019) · Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology · doi:10.1080/10643389.2018.1531688 · Cited by 564 · see citing works
“The most sensitive endpoint that could be found in the literature, is translocation to tissue beyond the gastrointestinal tract (Farrell & Nelson, 2013), though it can be debated whether this has to be considered an effect on biological functions.”
BackgroundInfluentialMicroplastic pollution in St. Lawrence River sediments
Castañeda, R. A., Avlijaš, S., Simard, M. A., & Ricciardi, A. P. (2014) · Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences · doi:10.1139/cjfas-2014-0281 · Cited by 563 · see citing works
“Once consumed, they can be passed on to higher trophic levels (Farrell and Nelson 2013; Setälä et al. 2014).”
BackgroundAtugoda, T., Vithanage, M., Wijesekara, H., Bolan, N., Sarmah, A. K., Bank, M. S., You, S., & Ok, Y. S. (2021) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2020.106367 · Cited by 561 · see citing works
“Once ingested, the microplastics either are eliminated through defecation or remain in the gut or pass through the gut wall and translocate to other tissues and systems such as the circulatory system, especially in the case of nanoplastics (Browne et al., 2008; Farrell and Nelson, 2013).”
BackgroundChoy, C. A., Robison, B. H., Gagné, T. O., Erwin, B., Firl, E., Halden, R. U., Hamilton, J. A., Katija, K., Lisin, S. E., Rolsky, C. B., et al. (2019) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-019-44117-2 · Cited by 563 · see citing works
Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis spp.) as sentinel organisms in coastal pollution monitoring: A review
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Microplastics in mussels sampled from coastal waters and supermarkets in the United Kingdom
Li, J., Green, C., Reynolds, A. J., Shi, H., & Rotchell, J. M. (2018) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2018.05.038 · Cited by 543 · see citing works
Transport of persistent organic pollutants by microplastics in estuarine conditions
Bakir, A., Rowland, S. J., & Thompson, R. C. (2014) · Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science · doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2014.01.004 · Cited by 536 · see citing works
“, 2013) with some evidence of trophic transfer of plastics (Farrell and Nelson, 2013).”
Zhang, K., Shi, H., Peng, J., Wang, Y., Xiong, X., Wu, C., & Lam, P. K. S. (2018) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.300 · Cited by 542 · see citing works
“Although studies have shown that microplastic bioaccumulation and trophic transfer are possible (Farrell and Nelson, 2013; Setälä et al., 2014; Su et al., 2016), some studies have indicated that microplastics can be rapidly excreted (Grigorakis et al.”
Micro- and nanoplastic toxicity on aquatic life: Determining factors
Kögel, T., Bjorøy, Ø., Toto, B., Bienfait, A. M., & Sanden, M. (2020) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136050 · Cited by 518 · see citing works
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Environmental occurrences, fate, and impacts of microplastics
Wu, P., Huang, J., Zheng, Y., Yang, Y., Zhang, Y., He, F., Chen, H., Quan, G., Yan, J., Li, T., et al. (2019) · Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109612 · Cited by 523 · see citing works
- Authors
- Farrell, P., & Nelson, K.
- Affiliations
- University of Portsmouth (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Farrell, Paul
- Venue
- Environmental Pollution
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2013-06
- Volume
- 177
- Pages
- 1-3
- ISSN
- 0269-7491 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2047003156
- Cited by
- 1,507
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 74 · 2025: 117 · 2024: 128 · 2023: 178 · 2022: 188 · 2021: 177 · 2020: 187 · 2019: 134 · 2018: 117 · 2017: 71 · 2016: 66 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 35.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environmental Pollution (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Keywords
- trophic transfer, Mytilus edulis, Carcinus maenas, polystyrene microspheres, hemolymph, tissue distribution, mussels, crabs, food webs, marine pollution
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Brachyura, Environmental Monitoring, Gills, Hemolymph, Plastics, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Food Chain, Mytilus edulis
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