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Terrestrial Isopods Generate Microplastics from Low-Density Polyethylene Without Effects on Survival
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This study found that terrestrial isopods physically fragmented low-density polyethylene plastic into microplastic particles during feeding and locomotion, without experiencing significant effects on survival. The results suggest that soil invertebrates may contribute to secondary microplastic generation in terrestrial ecosystems.
With concern growing regarding the impact of microplastics (MPs) on terrestrial ecosystems, it is important to assess the role invertebrates may play in the fate of MPs within these ecosystems. Commonly, MPs enter these environments through improperly discarded waste or the application of treated biosolids and/or wastewater on agricultural soils. The present study investigated whether three species of terrestrial isopod (Porcellio scaber, Porcellio laevis, and Porcellionides pruinosus) ingest plastic debris and generate MPs during exposures varying from 24 h to 14 days and whether this may have an adverse effect on their health. Test vessels were designed to expose isopods to plastic fragments in the form of polyethylene plastic foam. Isopods were exposed to plastic that was either (1) pristine, or (2) weathered in a soil and water solution prior to incorporation in test vessels. When exposed to weathered polyethylene, all three species generated MPs (minimum-maximum size values for all durations inclusive: P. laevis = 114-1673 µm, P. scaber = 99-1635 µm, P. pruinosus = 85-1113 µm) through the consumption of macroplastic fragments with no observed impact on their health. In the shorter-duration exposures, the number of MPs generated by the isopod species in the present study was highly variable between experimental vessels (minimum-maximum generated MPs for 14-day exposure: P. laevis = 25-420, P. scaber = 50-583, P. pruinosus = 48-311). However, as the exposure durations increased, there was a clear trend of increasing MP generation, indicating that the isopods continued to consume the plastic fragments as long as the surface was weathered. A significant difference in the size of generated MPs was observed as well, with smaller isopod species generating smaller MP fragments on average. The results of the present study confirm that certain species of isopod can contribute to the generation of MPs, which constitutes an additional pathway of MP exposure to soil ecosystems. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:784-792. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
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Terrestrial Isopods as Biotic Generators of Microplastics Following Chronic Exposure to Weathered Low‐Density Polyethylene
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Common soil bugs called isopods can chew larger plastic waste into microplastics, adding a hidden source of these tiny pollutants to soil, without it seeming to harm the bugs themselves. Since microplastics can move up the food chain into crops and animals we eat, this finding is a reminder that plastic litter breaking down in soil may be a bigger contributor to our environmental exposure than previously thought.
Raw data for: Terrestrial isopods as biotic generators of microplastics following chronic exposure to weathered low-density polyethylene
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Researchers exposed three isopod species to weathered polyethylene foam for 28 days and confirmed that all three mechanically fragment the plastic into microplastics through foraging, with particle size positively correlated to body size—establishing terrestrial detritivores as active generators of secondary microplastics in soil ecosystems.
Soil Invertebrates Generate Microplastics From Polystyrene Foam Debris
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Researchers demonstrated that four common soil invertebrates—crickets, isopods, beetle larvae, and snails—can physically fragment polystyrene foam into microplastics, revealing that soil organisms actively contribute to microplastic generation rather than just being affected by it.
Plastic bag and facial cleanser derived microplastic do not affect feeding behaviour and energy reserves of terrestrial isopods
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Researchers fed terrestrial isopods microplastic particles derived from plastic bags and facial scrub beads for 14 days at realistic concentrations and detected no effects on feeding rate, food assimilation, body mass, survival, or energy reserves, suggesting that short-term microplastic exposure at these particle sizes is not acutely harmful to this common soil invertebrate.
Characterizing Fragmentation of Polystyrene Foam Debris by Isopods Oniscus asellus (Isopoda: Oniscidae) and Trachelipus rathkii (Isopoda: Trachelipodidae)
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Researchers found that two species of terrestrial isopods (woodlice) physically fragment polystyrene foam into microplastic particles by chewing on it, with one species producing significantly more fragments than the other. The findings identify soil invertebrates as an underappreciated pathway for microplastic generation from plastic debris in terrestrial environments.
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