Experimental Evaluation of Seaweeds as a Vector for Microplastics into Marine Food Webs
Abstract
The ingestion of microplastics has been shown for a great variety of marine organisms. However, benthic marine mesoherbivores such as the common periwinkle Littorina littorea have been largely disregarded in studies about the effects of microplastics on the marine biota, probably because the pathway for microplastics to this functional group of organisms was not obvious. In laboratory experiments we showed that the seaweed Fucus vesiculosus retains suspended microplastics on its surface. The numbers of microplastics that adhered to the algae correlated with the concentrations of suspended particles in the water. In choice feeding assays L. littorea did not distinguish between algae with adherent microplastics and clean algae without microplastics, indicating that the snails do not recognize solid nonfood particles in the submillimeter size range as deleterious. In periwinkles that were feeding on contaminated algae, microplastics were found in the stomach and in the gut. However, no microplastics were found in the midgut gland, which is the principle digestive organ of gastropods. Microplastics in the fecal pellets of the periwinkles indicate that the particles do not accumulate rapidly inside the animals but are mostly released with the feces. Our results provide the first evidence that seaweeds may represent an efficient pathway for microplastics from the water to marine benthic herbivores.
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Microplastics attached to the surface of algae tend to migrate further into the algae.
“Lars Gutow et al. reported (2016) that microplastics attached to the surface of algae tend to migrate further into the algae [61].”
From Current Status and Future Trends in Removal, Control, and Mitigation of Algae Food Safety Risks for Human Consumption (2022) · cites this paper as [61]
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- Authors
- Gutow, L., Eckerlebe, A., Giménez, L., & Saborowski, R.
- Affiliations
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung (DE)
- Bangor University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Saborowski, Reinhard
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2015-12-24
- Volume
- 50
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 915-923
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W2237791566
- Cited by
- 346
- References
- 61
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 54 · 2023: 54 · 2022: 46 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 44 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 3
- FWCI
- 6.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) (acceptedVersion)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung (Alfred-Wegener-Institut) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Helmholtz Association
- 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 › Global and Planetary Change › Marine Ecology and Invasive Species
- Keywords
- microplastics, seaweed, Fucus vesiculosus, Littorina littorea, periwinkle, marine food webs, microplastic ingestion, choice feeding, hepatopancreas, fecal pellets
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Digestive System, Feces, Oceans and Seas, Plastics, Seaweed, Snails, Food Chain, Biota, Herbivory
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