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Size dependent uptake and trophic transfer of polystyrene microplastics in unicellular freshwater eukaryotes
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Researchers demonstrated that single-celled freshwater organisms can take in polystyrene microplastics and pass them up the food chain through predator-prey interactions. The size of the microplastic determined which organisms could ingest it, and some particles remained inside cells for up to 14 days. This is important because it shows microplastics enter the food web at the very lowest level, meaning contamination can accumulate through every step up to fish and eventually to humans.
Microplastics (MP) have become a well-known and widely investigated environmental pollutant. Despite the huge amount of new studies investigating the potential threat posed by MP, the possible uptake and trophic transfer in lower trophic levels of freshwater ecosystems remains understudied. This study aims to investigate the internalization and potential trophic transfer of fluorescent polystyrene (PS) beads (0.5 μm, 3.6 × 108 particles/mL; 6 μm, 2.1 × 105 particles/mL) and fragments (<30 μm, 5 × 103 particles/mL) in three unicellular eukaryotes. This study focuses on the size-dependent uptake of MP by two freshwater Ciliophora, Tetrahymena pyriformis, Paramecium caudatum and one Amoebozoa, Amoeba proteus, serving also as predator for experiments on potential trophic transfer. Size-dependent uptake of MP in all three unicellular eukaryotes was shown. P. caudatum is able to take up MP fragments up to 27.7 μm, while T. pyriformis ingests particles up to 10 μm. In A. proteus, small MP (PS0.5μm and PS6μm) were taken up via pinocytosis and were detected in the cytoplasm for up to 14 days after exposure. Large PS-MP (PS<30μm) were detected in A. proteus only after predation on MP-fed Ciliophora. These results indicate that A. proteus ingests larger MP via predation on Ciliophora (PS<30μm), which would not be taken up otherwise. This study shows trophic transfer of MP at the base of the aquatic food web and serves as basis to study the impact of MP in freshwater ecosystems.
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Size dependent uptake and trophic transfer of polystyrene microplastics in unicellular freshwater eukaryotes
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated the size-dependent uptake and trophic transfer of fluorescent polystyrene microplastic beads (0.5 µm and 6 µm) and fragments in unicellular freshwater eukaryotes, examining internalization dynamics at lower trophic levels where microplastic transfer is poorly understood.
Size dependent uptake and trophic transfer of polystyrene microplastics in unicellular freshwater eukaryotes
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated the size-dependent uptake and trophic transfer of fluorescent polystyrene microplastic beads and fragments (0.5 µm and 6 µm) in unicellular freshwater eukaryotes representing lower trophic levels. The study aimed to fill a gap in understanding how microplastics move through the base of freshwater food webs via protozoan and algal intermediaries.
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Researchers traced nano-sized polystyrene plastics through a four-species freshwater food chain — from algae to water fleas to two fish species — finding that nanoplastics transferred at each level and caused reduced activity, liver damage in fish, and penetration into fish embryos. The results highlight the broad ecological and health risks of nanoplastics moving up through aquatic food webs.
Ingestion and transfer of microplastics in the planktonic food web
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Researchers demonstrated that microplastics are ingested and transferred through a planktonic food web, with particles passing from primary producers to zooplankton grazers and on to predatory plankton, establishing trophic transfer as a real pathway for microplastic movement through marine food chains.
Transfer of Polystyrene Microplastics with Different Functional Groups in the Aquatic Food Chain
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Researchers investigated how polystyrene microplastics with different surface functional groups accumulate and transfer through an aquatic food chain, finding that surface chemistry significantly influences microplastic uptake and trophic transfer between organisms.
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