Cited by 1,084Microplastics and Plastic PollutionEnvironmental Toxicology and EcotoxicologyPharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts

Microplastics are taken up by mussels (Mytilus edulis) and lugworms (Arenicola marina) living in natural habitats

Van Cauwenberghe, Lisbeth, Claessens, Michiel, Vandegehuchte, Michiel B., Janssen, Colin R.·2015·Environmental Pollution

Abstract

We studied the uptake of microplastics under field conditions. At six locations along the French-Belgian-Dutch coastline we collected two species of marine invertebrates representing different feeding strategies: the blue mussel Mytilus edulis (filter feeder) and the lugworm Arenicola marina (deposit feeder). Additional laboratory experiments were performed to assess possible (adverse) effects of ingestion and translocation of microplastics on the energy metabolism (cellular energy allocation) of these species. Microplastics were present in all organisms collected in the field: on average 0.2 ± 0.3 microplastics g(-1) (M. edulis) and 1.2 ± 2.8 particles g(-1) (A. marina). In a proof of principle laboratory experiment, mussels and lugworms exposed to high concentrations of polystyrene microspheres (110 particles mL(-1) seawater and 110 particles g(-1) sediment, respectively) showed no significant adverse effect on the organisms' overall energy budget. The results are discussed in the context of possible risks as a result of the possible transfer of adsorbed contaminants.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.envpol.2015.01.008

Cites

63 of 63 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Van Cauwenberghe, L., Claessens, M., Vandegehuchte, M. B., & Janssen, C. R.
Affiliations
Ghent University (BE)
Venue
Environmental Pollution
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015-04
Volume
199
Pages
10-17
ISSN
0269-7491 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2000201528
Cited by
1,084
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 49 · 2025: 92 · 2024: 99 · 2023: 98 · 2022: 137 · 2021: 117 · 2020: 148 · 2019: 114 · 2018: 97 · 2017: 57 · 2016: 55 · 2015: 18
FWCI
46.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Environmental Pollution (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (submittedVersion)
  • Platform voor marien onderzoek (Vlaams Instituut Voor De Zee) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology
  • EuPC
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
microplastics, Mytilus edulis, Arenicola marina, lugworm, filter feeding, deposit feeding, polystyrene microspheres, energy metabolism, cellular energy allocation, microplastic ingestion, sediment ingestion, pollutant transfer, marine invertebrates, field survey
MeSH terms
Animals, Environmental Monitoring, Plastics, Polychaeta, Polystyrenes, Seawater, Shellfish, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Ecosystem, Bivalvia, Mytilus edulis

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review