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The potential impact of microplastic contamination in cow manure on maternal dung burying behavior and larval survival in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus
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Scientists found that microplastic-contaminated cow dung kills off dung beetle babies—and mother beetles can't tell the difference between safe and toxic dung, so they keep laying eggs in it anyway. This matters because dung beetles play a crucial role in breaking down animal waste and keeping farmland healthy, so if microplastics are building up in agricultural soil, it could quietly disrupt the ecosystems that support our food supply.
Microplastics are an emerging environmental hazard on a global scale. Their detection in agricultural environments is of particular concern because microplastics may negatively impact insect detritivores and their ecosystem functioning. Dung beetles are important detritivores and are often vulnerable to anthropogenic hazards. Here, we test whether artificial contamination of cow dung with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) microplastics affects juvenile development and maternal behavior in the bull-headed dung beetle Onthophagus taurus . Larvae exposed to dung containing ≥0.5 mg g −1 TPU microplastics experienced high mortality, whereas exposure to 0.1 mg g −1 TPU did not significantly increase mortality risk relative to controls. Despite these strong effects on larval survival, adult females were equally likely to provision offspring with TPU-contaminated (and lethal) dung as with uncontaminated control dung. This suggests that females cannot differentiate between highly toxic microplastic-contaminated and uncontaminated resources. Together, these results indicate the potential for severe negative impacts on dung beetle populations if TPU microplastics persist and accumulate in agricultural environments. However, environmentally relevant exposure levels remain unknown. Future work should quantify microplastic concentrations in the field, test the effects of microplastic composition and size distribution, and identify the mechanisms underlying TPU-induced toxicity. These avenues will be critical for evaluating the long-term consequences of microplastic pollution for insect–mediated ecosystem functioning.
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The impact of microplastic contamination in cow manure on reproductive behavior and larval survival in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus
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Researchers investigated the impact of microplastic-contaminated cow manure on the reproductive behavior and ecosystem functioning of dung beetles, which provide vital agricultural services. Microplastic-contaminated manure disrupted beetle reproductive activity, raising concerns about cascading effects on nutrient cycling in agricultural soils.
Physiological and histopathological effects of polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate microplastics and their binary mixture in a ground beetle ( Blaps polychresta )
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Scientists fed ground beetles tiny plastic particles (the same types found in packaging and bottles) and found the plastics damaged their gut function and reproductive organs by triggering cell-damaging stress, with two plastic types combined causing even worse effects than either alone. While this study is on beetles, not humans, it's a warning sign: as microplastics build up in soil from litter and waste, they may be harming small creatures that are crucial to healthy ecosystems and food chains — and the "mixture effect" finding suggests real-world plastic pollution (which is rarely just one type) could be more harmful than lab studies testing single pl
Plastics in the pasture: tracing microplastics in livestock dung from rural communities
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Researchers studying farms in rural South Africa found tiny plastic particles (microplastics) in chicken, goat, and cattle dung, with chickens having the most contamination. This matters because that dung is often used to fertilize crops, meaning these plastics could be building up in the soil where our food grows, though this study didn't test whether the plastics actually end up in the food itself or harm human health directly. More research is needed to understand what happens to these plastics once they're in farm soil.
Impact of Microplastic Exposure on the Behaviour of Terrestrial Invertebrates in Rural Ecosystems
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This review pulls together existing research showing that tiny plastic particles in farm soil are messing with the behavior and health of earthworms, ants, beetles, and other small creatures that keep soil fertile and crops growing. That matters for us because these critters are essential to food production—if microplastics are disrupting the soil ecosystem, it could ripple up the food chain and affect the quality and safety of what ends up on our plates. The researchers call for less plastic pollution and better farming practices to protect these hardworking soil organisms.
Microplastic exposure reduced the defecation rate, altered digestive enzyme activities, and caused histological and ultracellular changes in the midgut tissues of the ground beetle (Blaps polychresta)
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Researchers fed ground beetles microplastic-contaminated food and found that exposure slowed their digestion, disrupted digestive enzymes, and caused severe damage to their gut tissue at the cellular level. The beetles showed destroyed gut lining, abnormal cell structures, and dead cells in their midgut. Since ground beetles are important pest-controlling predators in agricultural fields, microplastic harm to these insects could disrupt the natural pest control that protects food crops.
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