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Multiple species ingest microplastic but few reflect sediment and water pollution on sandy beaches: A baseline for biomonitoring
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Researchers surveyed 45 species on sandy beaches and found that while many animals ingest microplastics, only a small fraction of species ingested them in proportion to how polluted the surrounding water and sediment actually were. This means choosing the right "biomonitor" species matters enormously — most animals are poor proxies for actual pollution levels. The study provides a critical baseline for designing reliable coastal microplastic monitoring programs.
Databases recording the ingestion of microplastics by marine animals are growing. This is also recurrent on sandy beaches, where different biomonitors have been proposed to monitor the impacts of plastic pollution. We aimed to record the occurrence of suspected microplastic (SMP) in the digestive tract of multiple taxa (n = 45 identified species) and test whether some macroinvertebrates and fishes ingested SMPs proportionally with the pollution level of sediment and water; thus, we aimed to depict which sandy beach species could be used as biomonitors. Among all taxa, 10 macroinvertebrates and 12 fish species were reported to ingest SMP for the first time. SMP morphotypes proportion differed between abiotic and biotic compartments. Moreover, 10 of 12 taxa did not have SMP concentration linearly related with SMP in sediment and water. Our findings suggest that few species from sandy beaches can be used as efficient biomonitors, although almost all ingest plastic polymers.
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Microplastic burden in marine benthic invertebrates depends on species traits and feeding ecology within biogeographical provinces
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Researchers analyzed microplastic levels in the bodies of marine bottom-dwelling invertebrates across different ocean regions and found that the amount of microplastic ingested depended more on the animals' feeding strategies and body traits than on local pollution levels alone. Filter-feeding and deposit-feeding species accumulated the most particles. The study suggests that simply measuring environmental microplastic concentrations may not accurately predict how much wildlife in an area is actually ingesting.
Microplastics’ Impact on the Environment and the Challenging Selection of Reliable Key Biomonitors
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This review examines the challenges of using living organisms as reliable monitors for microplastic pollution in the environment. Different species accumulate microplastics at different rates depending on their habitat, feeding habits, and body size, making it hard to compare results across studies. Establishing standardized biomonitors is important for accurately tracking how much microplastic contamination is reaching wildlife and, ultimately, the human food supply.
Can the Atlantic ghost crab be a potential biomonitor of microplastic pollution of sandy beaches sediment?
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Researchers tested the Atlantic ghost crab as a biomonitor for beach microplastic pollution, finding that the types of microplastics in crab gut contents closely mirrored those in beach sediment — confirming sediment as the main ingestion source — but that the crab's broad diet made it an unreliable indicator of overall contamination levels across beaches with different urbanization.
Bioindicators selection in the strategies for monitoring microplastic pollution
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Researchers reviewed strategies for selecting the best 'sentinel' species — from mussels to earthworms — to serve as biological indicators of microplastic and nanoplastic pollution in both aquatic and land environments. Choosing the right species based on behavior, habitat, and exposure pathways is essential for building consistent, comparable monitoring programs that can track plastic pollution over time.
Towards the suitable monitoring of ingestion of microplastics by marine biota: A review
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This review assessed various monitoring methods for detecting microplastic ingestion by marine biota, comparing laboratory and field-based approaches. The authors recommend method selection based on organism type and research question and call for more consistent reporting standards to enable cross-study comparison.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.