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Feeding type and development drive the ingestion of microplastics by freshwater invertebrates
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Abstract Microscopic plastic items (microplastics) are ubiquitously present in aquatic ecosystems. With decreasing size their availability and potential to accumulate throughout food webs increase. However, little is known on the uptake of microplastics by freshwater invertebrates. To address this, we exposed species with different feeding strategies to 1, 10 and 90 µm fluorescent polystyrene spheres (3–3 000 particles mL−1). Additionally, we investigated how developmental stages and a co-exposure to natural particles (e.g., food) modulate microplastic ingestion. All species ingested microplastics in a concentration-dependent manner with Daphnia magna consuming up to 6 180 particles h−1, followed by Chironomus riparius (226 particles h−1), Physella acuta (118 particles h−1), Gammarus pulex (10 particles h−1) and Lumbriculus variegatus (8 particles h−1). D. magna did not ingest 90 µm microplastics whereas the other species preferred larger microplastics over 1 µm in size. In C. riparius and D. magna, size preference depended on the life stage with larger specimens ingesting more and larger microplastics. The presence of natural particles generally reduced the microplastics uptake. Our results demonstrate that freshwater invertebrates have the capacity to ingest microplastics. However, the quantity of uptake depends on their feeding type and morphology as well as on the availability of microplastics.
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![Figure 2 Influence of natural particles on the ingestion of polystyrene particles. Bar graphs show change in ingestion [%] in relation to the total amount of ingested particles per size (1, 10 and 90 µm) in the absence of additional particles. Negative values represent a reduced ingestion and positive values an enhanced ingestion of polystyrene beads in the presence of natural particles. N.I. = no ingestion.](/paper-figures/01cedefd58384e20a5e4b0c3010b0732/feeding-type-and-development-drive-the-ingestion-of-microplastics-by-freshwater-figure-2.jpg)
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“Previous studies have indeed demonstrated that microplastics are taken up from sediments by freshwater species10−15 and that the capacity of freshwater invertebrates to ingest microplastics depends on their feeding type.15”
From Microplastic Effect Thresholds for Freshwater Benthic Macroinvertebrates (2018) · cites this paper as [15]
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“This is in accordance with previous studies showing that microplastic uptake by freshwater invertebrates is size- specific and feeding type dependent and that irregularly shaped microplastics need a significant longer clearance time in comparison to spherical microplastics.11,15”
From Microplastic Effect Thresholds for Freshwater Benthic Macroinvertebrates (2018) · cites this paper as [15]
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“Both laboratory experiments and in situ observations have confirmed that organisms of various trophic levels ingest or uptake microplastics, either directly or indirectly (Cole et al., 2013;Provencher et al., 2018;Scherer et al., 2017;Setälä et al., 2014).”
From No Effect of Realistic Concentrations of Polyester Microplastic Fibers on Freshwater Zooplankton Communities (2024) · cites this paper as Scherer et al., 2017
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“Such differences between study outcomes may relate to (a) differences in the exposure medium, as the presence of natural particles seems to reduce the ingestion of microplastics in freshwater invertebrates,15 and (b) to a higher bioavailability of particles in suspension as compared to particles mixed in the sediment as in the present bioassays.”
From Microplastic Effect Thresholds for Freshwater Benthic Macroinvertebrates (2018) · cites this paper as [15]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Scherer, C., Brennholt, N., Reifferscheid, G., & Wagner, M.
- Affiliations
- Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
- Federal Institute of Hydrology (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Scherer, Christian
- Venue
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2017-12-05
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 17006-17006
- ISSN
- 2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5717137
- OpenAlex
- W2770802549
- Cited by
- 448
- References
- 69
- Citations by year
- 2026: 45 · 2025: 48 · 2024: 66 · 2023: 58 · 2022: 64 · 2021: 63 · 2020: 52 · 2019: 37 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 12.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- BIBSYS Brage (BIBSYS (Norway)) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Publication Server of Goethe University Frankfurt am Main (Goethe University Frankfurt) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
- 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, microplastic ingestion, freshwater invertebrates, feeding type, developmental stages, Daphnia magna, Chironomus riparius, Physella acuta, Gammarus pulex, Lumbriculus variegatus, polystyrene microspheres
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Chironomidae, Daphnia, Eating, Fresh Water, Invertebrates, Plastics, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Ecosystem, Food Chain, Amphipoda
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