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Data from: Defecation in preparation for ecdysis drives microplastic clearance in cricket nymphs
AI summary Read the abstract
Crickets naturally clear out microplastics from their gut right before they molt (shed their exoskeleton to grow), mainly by stopping eating and pooping out the plastic-filled waste. This matters because it means these insects don't hold onto plastic for long, which could reduce how much plastic gets passed up the food chain to the animals—and eventually humans—that eat them.
Plastic pollution is widespread in both terrestrial and marine environments, creating significant ecological concerns. Animals that occupy lower trophic levels, like many small insects, can ingest and retain plastics for extended periods before eliminating them. Ecdysis, or moulting, occurs in arthropods during development and facilitates growth, but its role in microplastic (MP) clearance, and whether it is impacted by MPs, are largely unexplored. We used the cricket Gryllodes sigillatus to examine how and when moulting influences MP clearance in a hemimetabolous species known to ingest and tolerate MPs throughout development. We tested two alternative hypotheses of how moulting influences MP clearance: (1) that moulting of the gut lining removes MPs, or (2) that cessation of feeding and/or purging frass before ecdysis occurs removes MPs. In doing so, we also provide new evidence that cricket nymphs exhibit a cyclical (cosinor) pattern of frass production associated with ecdysis. We found that the events leading to ecdysis likely act synergistically to clear the gut contents from crickets' digestive tracts, with the slowing and cessation of feeding and the clearance of frass from the digestive tract eliminating most MPs from the cricket’s gut before ecdysis. We also observed that the timing of ecdysis and overall frass production remained unaffected by continuous MP ingestion, whereas switching between MP and non-MP diets caused modest changes in the timing of frass production within an instar. Crickets are known to biofragment MPs into NPs, which, with gut-clearing, likely allows them to deposit plastic-laden frass rapidly and reduces the likelihood of upward trophic transfer by reducing MP retention.
More Papers Like This
Defecation in preparation for ecdysis drives microplastic clearance in cricket nymphs
AI summary Read the abstract
Crickets naturally clear out microplastics from their gut right before they molt (shed their exoskeleton to grow), mainly by stopping eating and pooping out the plastic-laden waste—not by shedding their gut lining as scientists initially suspected. This matters because crickets and similar insects are food for other animals (and increasingly, humans), so understanding how they get rid of microplastics helps us figure out whether these plastics are likely to build up as they move up the food chain and eventually reach our plates.
Defecation in preparation for ecdysis drives microplastic clearance in cricket nymphs
AI summary Read the abstract
A study of cricket nymphs (Gryllodes sigillatus) found that microplastics are primarily cleared from the gut not by moulting of the gut lining as previously assumed, but by the purging of gut contents that occurs in preparation for each moult, following a cyclical pattern. Understanding how terrestrial insects clear microplastics matters for food web modelling, since insects are a key dietary component for birds, fish, and other animals that could be exposed to plastics through predation.
The digestive system of a cricket pulverizes polyethylene microplastics
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Researchers fed crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) fluorescent polyethylene microplastics at concentrations of 0-10% (w/w) and dissected gut regions to track particle size changes along the digestive tract. Crickets egested particles substantially smaller than those ingested, with fragmentation occurring early in digestion, suggesting generalist insects can transform ingested microplastics into nanoplastic-range particles.
The digestive system of a cricket pulverizes polyethylene microplastics down to the nanoplastic scale
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This study found that crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) physically ground ingested polyethylene microplastics down to nanoplastic-scale particles through their digestive processes, a finding with implications for how insects contribute to nanoplastic generation and dispersal in terrestrial ecosystems.
Microplastics in the digestive tract of Gryllus pennsylvanicus crickets in a biosolid – treated agricultural field
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Researchers found microplastics in the digestive tracts of over half of wild crickets collected from agricultural fields in Ontario, Canada, where sewage-based fertilizer had been applied. The crickets appeared to break down larger plastic pieces into smaller fragments, potentially spreading microplastic contamination further through the ecosystem. This shows that insects living in farm fields are ingesting microplastics and may be contributing to the movement and breakdown of plastic pollution in the food web.
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