Ingestion of Microplastics by Freshwater Tubifex Worms
Open accessAbstract
Microplastic contamination of the aquatic environment is a global issue. Microplastics can be ingested by organisms leading to negative physiological impacts. The ingestion of microplastics by freshwater invertebrates has not been reported outside the laboratory. Here we demonstrate the ingestion of microplastic particles by Tubifex tubifex from bottom sediments in a major urban waterbody fed by the River Irwell, Manchester, UK. The host sediments had microplastic concentrations ranging from 56 to 2543 particles kg –1 . 87% of the Tubifex -ingested microplastic particles were microfibers (55–4100 μm in length), while the remaining 13% were microplastic fragments (50–4500 μm in length). FT-IR analysis revealed ingestion of a range of polymers, including polyester and acrylic fibers. While microbeads were present in the host sediment matrix, they were not detected in Tubifex worm tissue. The mean concentration of ingested microplastics was 129 ± 65.4 particles g –1 tissue. We also show that Tubifex worms retain microplastics for longer than they retain other particulate components of the ingested sediment matrix. Microplastic ingestion by Tubifex worms poses a significant risk for trophic transfer and biomagnification of microplastics up the aquatic food chain.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The text we found for this paper looks like another document, so the self-check wasn’t run.
Cites
The Physical Impacts of Microplastics on Marine Organisms: A Review
Wright, S. L., Thompson, R. C., & Galloway, T. S. (2013) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2013.02.031 · Cited by 4,524 · see citing works
Browne, M. A., Dissanayake, A., Galloway, T. S., Lowe, D. M., & Thompson, R. C. (2008) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es800249a · Cited by 2,263 · see citing works
Lu, Y., Zhang, Y., Deng, Y., Jiang, W., Zhao, Y., Geng, J., Ding, L., & Ren, H. (2016) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b00183 · Cited by 2,125 · see citing works
Microplastics in bivalves cultured for human consumption
Cauwenberghe, L. V., & Janssen, C. (2014) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2014.06.010 · Cited by 2,081 · see citing works
Rochman, C. M., Tahir, A., Williams, S. L., Baxa, D. V., Lam, R., Miller, J. T., Teh, F., Werorilangi, S., & Teh, S. J. (2015) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep14340 · Cited by 1,553 · see citing works
Trophic level transfer of microplastic: Mytilus edulis (L.) to Carcinus maenas (L.)
Farrell, P., & Nelson, K. (2013) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2013.01.046 · Cited by 1,507 · see citing works
Microplastic is an Abundant and Distinct Microbial Habitat in an Urban River
McCormick, A. R., Hoellein, T. J., Mason, S. A., Schluep, J., & Kelly, J. J. (2014) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es503610r · Cited by 1,486 · see citing works
Cole, M., Lindeque, P., Fileman, E., Halsband, C., & Galloway, T. S. (2015) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es504525u · Cited by 1,308 · see citing works
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 Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b05478 · Cited by 1,249 · see citing works
Microplastics in Taihu Lake, China
Su, L., Xue, Y., Li, L., Yang, D., Kolandhasamy, P., Li, D., & Shi, H. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.06.036 · Cited by 1,213 · see citing works
Browne, M. A., Niven, S. J., Galloway, T. S., Rowland, S. J., & Thompson, R. C. (2013) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2013.10.012 · Cited by 1,160 · see citing works
Polystyrene Spherules in Coastal Waters
Carpenter, E. J., Anderson, S. J., Harvey, G. R., Miklas, H. P., & Peck, B. B. (1972) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.178.4062.749 · Cited by 1,115 · see citing works
Bakir, A., Rowland, S. J., & Thompson, R. C. (2013) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2013.10.007 · Cited by 1,100 · see citing works
Van Cauwenberghe, L., Claessens, M., Vandegehuchte, M. B., & Janssen, C. R. (2015) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2015.01.008 · Cited by 1,084 · see citing works
Microplastic ingestion decreases energy reserves in marine worms
Wright, S. L., Rowe, D., Thompson, R. C., & Galloway, T. S. (2013) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2013.10.068 · Cited by 1,079 · see citing works
Microplastics and mesoplastics in fish from coastal and fresh waters of China
Jabeen, K., Su, L., Li, J., Yang, D., Tong, C., Mu, J., & Shi, H. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.11.055 · Cited by 1,051 · see citing works
Microplastics in commercial bivalves from China
Li, J., Yang, D., Li, L., Jabeen, K., & Shi, H. (2015) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2015.09.018 · Cited by 1,017 · see citing works
Besseling, E., Wegner, A., Foekema, E. M., van den Heuvel-Greve, M. J., & Koelmans, A. A. (2013) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es302763x · Cited by 1,012 · see citing works
Microplastics in seafood: Benchmark protocol for their extraction and characterization
Dehaut, A., Cassone, A.-L., Frère, L., Hermabessière, L., Himber, C., Rinnert, E., Rivière, G., Christophe Lambert, B., Soudant, P., Huvet, A., et al. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.05.018 · Cited by 966 · see citing works
Rocha‐Santos, T., & Duarte, A. C. (2014) · TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.trac.2014.10.011 · Cited by 937 · see citing works
Microplastics in mussels along the coastal waters of China
Li, J., Qu, X., Su, L., Zhang, W., Yang, D., Kolandhasamy, P., Li, D., & Shi, H. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.04.012 · Cited by 904 · see citing works
Quality assessment of the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis): comparison between commercial and wild types
De Witte, B., Devriese, L., Bekaert, K., Hoffman, S., Vandermeersch, G., Cooreman, K., & Robbens, J. (2014) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.06.006 · Cited by 787 · see citing works
A high-performance protocol for extraction of microplastics in fish
Karami, A., Golieskardi, A., Choo, C. K., Romano, N., Ho, Y. B., & Salamatinia, B. (2016) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.10.213 · Cited by 764 · see citing works
Lagarde, F., Olivier, O., Zanella, M., Daniel, P., Hiard, S., & Caruso, A. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.05.006 · Cited by 738 · see citing works
Plastic Bag Derived-Microplastics as a Vector for Metal Exposure in Terrestrial Invertebrates
Hodson, M. E., Duffus-Hodson, C. A., Clark, A., Prendergast‐Miller, M. T., & Thorpe, K. L. (2017) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b00635 · Cited by 738 · see citing works
Sources and sinks of microplastics in Canadian Lake Ontario nearshore, tributary and beach sediments
Ballent, A., Corcoran, P. L., Madden, O., Helm, P. A., & Longstaffe, F. J. (2016) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.037 · Cited by 700 · see citing works
Micro- and Nano-plastics and Human Health
Galloway, T. S. (2015) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16510-3_13 · Cited by 635 · see citing works
Microplastic pollution of lakeshore sediments from remote lakes in Tibet plateau, China
Zhang, K., Su, J., Xiong, X., Xiang, W., Wu, C., & Liu, J. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.05.048 · Cited by 619 · see citing works
The ecological impacts of marine debris: unraveling the demonstrated evidence from what is perceived
Rochman, C. M., Browne, M. A., Underwood, A. J., van Franeker, J. A., Thompson, R. C., & Amaral‐Zettler, L. A. (2016) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/14-2070.1 · Cited by 614 · 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
Histopathological and molecular effects of microplastics in Eisenia andrei Bouché
Rodríguez-Seijo, A., Lourenço, J., Rocha‐Santos, T., da Costa, J. P., Duarte, A. C., Vala, H., & Pereira, R. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.09.092 · Cited by 590 · see citing works
Marine microplastic-associated biofilms – a review
Oberbeckmann, S., Löder, M. G. J., & Labrenz, M. (2015) · Environmental Chemistry · doi:10.1071/en15069 · Cited by 492 · see citing works
Plastic pollution in Swiss surface waters: nature and concentrations, interaction with pollutants
Faure, F., Demars, C., Wieser, O., Kunz, M., & Alencastro, L. F. D. (2015) · Environmental Chemistry · doi:10.1071/en14218 · Cited by 491 · see citing works
Peters, C. A., & Bratton, S. P. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.01.018 · Cited by 409 · see citing works
Sánchez, W., Bender, C., & Porcher, J. (2013) · Environmental Research · doi:10.1016/j.envres.2013.11.004 · Cited by 407 · see citing works
Welden, N. A. C., & Cowie, P. R. (2016) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.08.020 · Cited by 365 · see citing works
Biginagwa, F. J., Mayoma, B. S., Shashoua, Y., Syberg, K., & Khan, F. R. (2015) · Journal of Great Lakes Research · doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2015.10.012 · Cited by 333 · see citing works
Sources and Pathways of Microplastics to Habitats
Browne, M. A. (2015) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16510-3_9 · Cited by 320 · see citing works
Fate of Microplastics in the Marine Isopod <i>Idotea emarginata</i>
Hämer, J., Gutow, L., Köhler, A., & Saborowski, R. (2014) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es501385y · Cited by 286 · see citing works
Occurrence and amount of microplastic ingested by fishes in watersheds of the Gulf of Mexico.
Phillips, M., & Bonner, T. (2015) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.08.041 · Cited by 276 · see citing works
Ingested microplastics (>100μm) are translocated to organs of the tropical fiddler crab Uca rapax
Brennecke, D., Ferreira, E. C., Costa, T. M. M., Appel, D., da Gama, B. A. P., & Lenz, M. (2015) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.05.001 · Cited by 266 · see citing works
Impact of tubificid oligochaetes on pollutant transport in bottom sediments
Karickhoff, S. W., & Morris, K. R. (1985) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es00131a004 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Guide to the Freshwater Aquatic Microdrile Oligochaetes of North America
Brinkhurst, R. O. (1986) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 149 · see citing works
INTERSPECIFIC INTERACTIONS AND SELECTIVE FEEDING BY TUBIFICID OLIGOCHAETES1
Brinkhurst, R. O., Chua, K. E., & Kaushik, N. K. (1972) · Limnology and Oceanography · doi:10.4319/lo.1972.17.1.0122 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
The handbook of environmental chemistry
Žil'cov, S. S., Zonn, I. S., & Kostjanoj, A. G. (2016) · Springer eBooks · Cited by 131 · see citing works
A sediment bioassay using the tubificid oligochaete worm Tubifex tubifex
Reynoldson, T. B., Thompson, S. P., & Bamsey, J. L. (1991) · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · doi:10.1002/etc.5620100811 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Toxicant and parasite challenge of Manz intermittent slow sand filter
Palmateer, G., Manz, D. H., Jurkovic, A. A., McInnis, R., Unger, S., Kwan, K. K., & Dutka, B. J. (1999) · Environmental Toxicology · doi:10.1002/(sici)1522-7278(199905)14:2 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Toxic Effects and Bioaccumulation of Cadmium in the Aquatic Oligochaete Tubifex tubifex
Bouché, M., Habets, F., Biagianti-Risbourg, S., et al. (2000) · Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · doi:10.1006/eesa.2000.1919 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Mosleh, Y. Y., Paris‐Palacios, S., & Biagianti-Risbourg, S. (2005) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2005.10.045 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Utility and relevance of aquatic oligochaetes in Ecological Risk Assessment
Chapman, P. M. (2001) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-010-0597-5_17 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Matisoff, G., Wang, X., & McCall, P. L. (1999) · Journal of Great Lakes Research · doi:10.1016/s0380-1330(99)70729-x · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Selective feeding by the aquatic oligochaete Tubifex tubifex (Tubificidae, Clitellata)
Rodriguez, P., Martinez-Madrid, M., Arrate, J. A., & Navarro, E. (2001) · Hydrobiologia · doi:10.1023/a:1013199507341 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Cadmium accumulation by invertebrates living at the sediment–water interface
Hare, L., Tessier, A., & Warren, L. A. (2001) · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · doi:10.1002/etc.5620200424 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Lagauzère, S., Terrail, R., & Bonzom, J. (2008) · Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2008.04.021 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Lagauzère, S., Boyer, P., Stora, G., et al. (2009) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2009.03.062 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Aspects of the respiratory physiology of Tubifex tubifex in relation to its ecology
Palmer, M. F. (1968) · Journal of Zoology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1968.tb01678.x · Cited by 56 · see citing works
A laboratory study of the food of three species of leeches occurring in British lakes
YOUNG, J. O., & Ironmonger, J. W. (1980) · Hydrobiologia · doi:10.1007/bf00018828 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Gillis, P. L., Dixon, D. G., Borgmann, U., et al. (2004) · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · doi:10.1897/02-415 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Assimilation by Aquatic Oligochaeta
Brinkhurst, R. O., & Austin, M. J. (1979) · Internationale Revue der gesamten Hydrobiologie und Hydrographie · doi:10.1002/iroh.19790640209 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Ingestion of plastics at sea: does debris size really matter?
Reisser, J., Proietti, M. C., Shaw, J., et al. (2014) · Frontiers in Marine Science · doi:10.3389/fmars.2014.00070 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Méndez-Fernández, L., Martínez-Madrid, M., & Rodríguez, P. (2013) · Ecotoxicology · doi:10.1007/s10646-013-1131-4 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Kaonga, C. C., Kumwenda, J., & Mapoma, H. W. T. (2009) · International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology · doi:10.1007/bf03326123 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Egeler, P., Meller, M., Roembke, J., et al. (2001) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-010-0597-5_18 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Anlauf, A. (1994) · Hydrobiologia · doi:10.1007/bf00142306 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Biological characterization of sediments by standardized tubificid bioassays
Milbrink, G. (1987) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-3091-9_34 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Biological characterization of sediments by standardized tubificid bioassays
Milbrink, G. (1987) · Hydrobiologia · doi:10.1007/bf00025659 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Egeler, P., Meller, M., Roembke, J., et al. (2001) · Hydrobiologia · doi:10.1023/a:1013155709158 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Anlauf, A. (1994) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-011-0842-3_1 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Toxicity of metal polluted sediments to Daphnia magna and Tubifex tubifex
Wiederholm, T., & Dave, G. (1989) · Hydrobiologia · doi:10.1007/bf00026574 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Toxicity of metal polluted sediments to Daphnia magna and Tubifex tubifex
Wiederholm, T., & Dave, G. (1989) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-2376-8_37 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Lazim, M. N., & Learner, M. A. (1986) · Ecography · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0587.1986.tb01208.x · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Selective Feeding of Tubificids on Bacteria
Coler, R. A., Gunner, H. B., & Zuckerman, B. M. (1967) · Nature · doi:10.1038/2161143a0 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Dunbrack, R. L. (1988) · Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences · doi:10.1139/f88-141 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Manchester Ship Canal and Salford Quays: industrial legacy and ecological restoration
Williams, A. E., Waterfall, R. J., White, K. N., et al. (2010) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511805561.015 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Weber, L. P., & Lanno, R. P. (2001) · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · doi:10.1897/1551-5028(2001)020 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
de Sá, L. C., Oliveira, M., Ribeiro, F., Rocha, T. L., & Futter, M. N. (2018) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.207 · Cited by 1,316 · see citing works
Microplastic contamination of river beds significantly reduced by catchment-wide flooding
Hurley, R., Woodward, J., & Rothwell, J. J. (2018) · Nature Geoscience · doi:10.1038/s41561-018-0080-1 · Cited by 1,003 · see citing works
Self-citationA Review: Research Progress on Microplastic Pollutants in Aquatic Environments
Tang, Y., Liu, Y., Chen, Y., Zhang, W., Zhao, J., He, S., Yang, C., Zhang, T., Tang, C., Zhang, C., et al. (2021) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142572 · Cited by 433 · see citing works
Microplastic Effect Thresholds for Freshwater Benthic Macroinvertebrates
Redondo-Hasselerharm, P. E., Falahudin, D., Peeters, E. T. H. M., & Koelmans, A. A. (2018) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b05367 · Cited by 355 · see citing works
Plastic Particle Ingestion by Wild Freshwater Fish: A Critical Review
Collard, F., Gasperi, J., Gabrielsen, G. W., & Tassin, B. (2019) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b03083 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
Acute and chronic effects of polystyrene microplastics on juvenile and adult Daphnia magna
Eltemsah, Y. S., & Bøhn, T. (2019) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2019.07.087 · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Microplastics in lakes and rivers: An issue of emerging significance to limnology
D’Avignon, G., Gregory-Eaves, I., & Ricciardi, A. (2022) · Environmental Reviews · doi:10.1139/er-2021-0048 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Castro-Castellon, A. T., Horton, A. A., Hughes, J. M. R., Rampley, C., Jeffers, E. S., Bussi, G., & Whitehead, P. (2022) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151638 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Silva, C. J. M., Machado, A. L., Campos, D., Rodrigues, A. C. M., Patrício Silva, A. L., Soares, A. M. V. M., & Pestana, J. L. T. (2022) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150118 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hurley, R. R., Woodward, J. C., & Rothwell, J. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Hurley, Rachel R.
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2017-10-25
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 21
- Pages
- 12844-12851
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W2761718382
- Cited by
- 286
- References
- 75
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 54 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 9.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- other-oa
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Keywords
- microplastic ingestion, Tubifex tubifex, freshwater invertebrates, microfibers, microplastic fragments, microbeads, sediment contamination, polyester fibers, polyacrylonitrile fibers, microplastic retention, trophic transfer, biomagnification, urban water bodies
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Environmental Monitoring, Fresh Water, Plastics, Polychaeta, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
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
