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Cross-Ecosystem Transfer of Microplastics via Emergent Aquatic Insects to Riparian Spiders in a Municipal Wastewater-Impacted System
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Scientists found that tiny plastic particles from wastewater treatment plants don't just stay in rivers, they hitch a ride inside baby insects, which then carry the plastic with them when they grow up and fly out of the water. Spiders living near these rivers that eat these insects end up with more microplastics in their bodies too, showing how water pollution can spread into land-based food chains. While this study looked at spiders, not humans, it's a reminder that plastic pollution can travel further through nature than we might expect, potentially affecting the broader food web we're also part of.
: Microplastics (plastic particles ≤5 mm) are a persistent and widespread pollutant in aquatic ecosystems, where they can accumulate in the larvae of aquatic insects inhabiting benthic habitats. Aquatic insects cross aquatic-terrestrial boundaries through metamorphosis, yet few studies have investigated their role in transporting microplastics to terrestrial ecosystems as emergent adults. This study sampled upstream and downstream of eight municipal wastewater treatment plants in the Grand River watershed, Ontario, Canada, in 2022 and 2023 to assess whether these facilities increase microplastics occurrence in aquatic and riparian food webs. Larval and adult caddisflies (Hydropsychidae), mayflies (Heptageniidae), midges (Chironomidae), and riparian spiders (Tetragnathidae) were collected to examine microplastics accumulation, retention through metamorphosis, and cross-ecosystem transfer into riparian spiders. Larval Heptageniidae, adult Chironomidae, and Tetragnathidae exhibited higher microplastic abundances downstream relative to upstream, with concentrations approximately 2.4-, 3.7-, and 2-fold higher, respectively, although the magnitude of differences varied across sites; no significant differences were observed for the other taxa. Organic (cellulose-based) and polyester fibres were the most common, representing ∼25-68% and ∼16-50% of particles across taxa, respectively. Relationships between total microfibre concentration and trophic position (δ 15 N) were generally weak and site specific, while TTFs >1 were observed between biofilm and larval taxa at most sites but were generally <1 between adult insects and spiders. Together, these findings demonstrate that emergent aquatic insects retain and transfer microplastics across aquatic-terrestrial boundaries to riparian predators but provide limited evidence for consistent trophic magnification across the food web. This research addresses a critical knowledge gap by advancing our understanding of microplastic uptake and movement through nearshore food webs via emergent aquatic insects.
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Transmission of nanoplastics from Culex quinquefasciatus to Pardosa pseudoannulata and its impact on predators
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Researchers exposed Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito larvae to 200 and 1000 nanoplastics per mL of polystyrene and then fed the matured mosquitoes to Pardosa pseudoannulata wolf spiders to trace nanoplastic transmission across the aquatic-terrestrial boundary. They found that ingestion of nanoplastic-exposed prey affected spider growth, intestinal tissue structure, gut flora composition, and enzymatic activity, potentially prolonging time to maturation and reducing predatory performance.
Hitchhiking Microplastics Through Mosquitoes as Unseen Vehicles of Terrestrial and Aerial Transfer: Experimental Evidence
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Scientists found that tiny plastic particles (microplastics) can be absorbed by mosquito larvae and carried through their entire life cycle—showing up in nearly all the adult mosquitoes that emerged. While this study focused on mosquito health (higher plastic doses meant more baby mosquitoes died), it raises a bigger concern: if plastics can hitch a ride through insects like this, they may be moving through food webs and ecosystems in ways we don't fully understand yet, including potentially into animals and humans that interact with these insects.
Microplastics associated to emerged aquatic insects highlight a potential pathway of environmental transport: a case study of the mayfly Cloeon dipterum
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Scientists found that mayflies, aquatic insects that spend part of their life in water and part flying on land, can carry tiny plastic particles with them when they emerge from ponds and rivers as adults. This matters because it reveals a previously overlooked way microplastics can travel from water into land ecosystems, potentially entering the diets of birds, bats, and other animals that eat these insects, and ultimately working their way further up the food chain, including to humans who eat those animals or fish. More research is needed to understand exactly how much plastic moves this way and what it means for our health, but this study shows the pathway exists.
Aquatic insects as mediator for microplastics pollution in a river ecosystem of Bangladesh
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Researchers found that aquatic insects in a Malaysian river ecosystem ingest microplastics and can transport them across ecosystem boundaries as the insects emerge from water to land, functioning as biological vectors that move plastic contamination from aquatic to terrestrial food webs.
Microplastic accumulation in terrestrial insects on the example of social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)
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Researchers analyzed microplastic accumulation in 466 wild wasps across 16 regions of Eurasia and North Africa from 2012 to 2024, finding that all species carried microplastic fibers and fragments in their bodies, with contamination highest near coastal areas. The findings show that terrestrial insects can act as carriers that spread microplastics through land-based food webs.
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