Microplastics in freshwater ecosystems: what we know and what we need to know

By M. Wagner, C. Scherer, D. Álvarez‐Muñoz, Nicole Brennholt, X. Bourrain, S. Buchinger, E. Fries, C. Grosbois, J. Klasmeier, T. Martí and 5 more. Environmental Sciences Europe, 2014

1,304 citations recorded by the source corpus.

BackgroundWhile the use of plastic materials has generated huge societal benefits, the ‘plastic age’ comes with downsides: One issue of emerging concern is the accumulation of plastics in the aquatic environment. Here, so-called microplastics (MP), fragments smaller than 5 mm, are of special concern because they can be ingested throughout the food web more readily than larger particles. Focusing on freshwater MP, we briefly review the state of the science to identify gaps of knowledge and deduce research needs.State of the scienceEnvironmental scientists started investigating marine (micro)plastics in the early 2000s. Today, a wealth of studies demonstrates that MP have ubiquitously permeated the marine ecosystem, including the polar regions and the deep sea. MP ingestion has been documented for an increasing number of marine species. However, to date, only few studies investigate their biological effects.The majority of marine plastics are considered to originate from land-based sources, including surface waters. Although they may be important transport pathways of MP, data from freshwater ecosystems is scarce. So far, only few studies provide evidence for the presence of MP in rivers and lakes. Data on MP uptake by freshwater invertebrates and fish is very limited.Knowledge gapsWhile the research on marine MP is more advanced, there are immense gaps of knowledge regarding freshwater MP. Data on their abundance is fragmentary for large and absent for small surface waters. Likewise, relevant sources and the environmental fate remain to be investigated. Data on the biological effects of MP in freshwater species is completely lacking. The accumulation of other freshwater contaminants on MP is of special interest because ingestion might increase the chemical exposure. Again, data is unavailable on this important issue.ConclusionsMP represent freshwater contaminants of emerging concern. However, to assess the environmental risk associated with MP, comprehensive data on their abundance, fate, sources, and biological effects in freshwater ecosystems are needed. Establishing such data critically depends on a collaborative effort by environmental scientists from diverse disciplines (chemistry, hydrology, ecotoxicology, etc.) and, unsurprisingly, on the allocation of sufficient public funding.

Subfields: Biomaterials, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis, Pollution

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/6724a731ca99cea05d5a9688f945d270c641b8fe

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Citations in the corpus

Distribution and importance of microplastics in the marine environment: A review of the sources, fate, effects, and potential solutions. (2017, background): “The ultra violet radiation in the sun causes oxidation of thepolymermatrixwhich leads to the cleavage of bond (Cole et al., 2011; Andrady, 2011; GESAMP, 2014;Mailhot et al., 2000; Lucas et al., 2008; Wagner et al., 2014).”
Microplastics in Freshwater: What Is the News from the World? (2020, background): “Greater contamination of fMPs is explained by a higher density of the human population that produces plastic waste and by the possibility that fMPs reach freshwater, for example, due to poor waste management systems or surface runoff [6,20,33].”
Microplastic Contamination in Freshwater Environments: A Review, Focusing on Interactions with Sediments and Benthic Organisms (2020, background): “If ingested they can reduce feeding, decrease ecophysiological functions, and introduce chemicals into the food chain [5,9].”
Microplastics and mesoplastics in fish from coastal and fresh waters of China. (2017, background): “Plastics comprise the largest part of marine debris and have been reported as important pollutants in marine as well as freshwater environments (Thompson et al., 2004; Cole et al., 2011; Maximenko et al., 2012; Wagner et al., 2014; Dris et al., 2015).”
Impacts of Plastic Pollution on Ecosystem Services, Sustainable Development Goals, and Need to Focus on Circular Economy and Policy Interventions (2021, background): “41 g cm−3 [93–95], and have unique physical properties in terms of shape and size [96,97].”
Export of Plastic Debris by Rivers into the Sea. (2017, methodology): “This approach is similar to a recently published approach by Lebreton et al. (2017).(10) Here, we compiled a larger data set and treated microplastic (particles <5 mm) and macroplastic (particles >5 mm) separately.”
Emerging threats and persistent conservation challenges for freshwater biodiversity (2018, background): “…waters requires a clearer understanding of: ( i ) sources, sinks and ﬂuxes; ( ii ) factors controlling spatio-temporal variations in microplastic concentrations; ( iii ) data on co-transported contaminants; and ( iv ) routes of uptake and effects on freshwater organisms (Wagner et al. , 2014).”
A first overview of textile fibers, including microplastics, in indoor and outdoor environments. (2017, background): “So far, only few freshwater bodies have been studied and only little information is provided regarding the inputs/sources and pathways of microplastics (Dris et al., 2015b; Wagner et al., 2014).”