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From the Seafloor to the Surface: a Global Review of Gastropods as Bioindicators of Marine Microplastics
Summary
This global review examined evidence of microplastic ingestion by marine gastropods (sea snails) and evaluated their potential as bioindicator species for ocean microplastic pollution. Gastropods from the seafloor to the surface were found to contain microplastics, with bottom-dwelling species accumulating the highest amounts. The authors argue that gastropods are a practical and widespread tool for monitoring microplastic contamination across marine environments.
Microplastic (MP) pollution is a prevalent problem in marine ecosystems. These particles are often consumed unintentionally by marine organisms due to their small size, affecting their growth and development. Gastropods are an abundant, diverse group of molluscs which play important ecological roles and have significant economic value in the aquaculture industry. As marine gastropods have not yet been evaluated as bioindicators for MP pollution prior to this study, we hypothesise that these gastropods function as indicator species for marine MP pollution. We evaluated global literature available on the evidence of MPs in marine gastropods according to five gastropod subclasses. An average of 32.79 pieces of plastic/individual was found across all marine gastropods, with Caenogastropods having the greatest MP abundance (77.10 pieces/individual). Fibres (69%) and fragments (22%) were the main MP types observed across the gastropods, with Acrylic (22%), Polyamide (19%), and Polyethylene Terephthalate (13%) as the major polymer types. We also hypothesise that MPs are found in commercially available gastropods from local sources in Singapore. Hence, we examined the presence of MPs in the Caenogastropod Laevistrombus turturella from the coastal waters of Singapore and found an average of 273 pieces/individual, consisting of mostly fibres (35%) and film (31%). We also provide insight into the mechanism of MP uptake and release in gastropods, in relation to the effects of MP ingestion in these organisms. Gastropod feeding patterns were also found to impact MP abundance. Hence, we proposed gastropods to be essential indicators of MP pollution in marine environments.