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Ants actively carry microplastics
Summary
This study found that ants actively transport microplastic particles, carrying them both into and out of their nests, making them a previously overlooked pathway for microplastic movement in soils. Soil invertebrates may play a significant role in spreading microplastic contamination through terrestrial ecosystems.
Microplastics (<5 mm in diameter) are found in many regions of the world – from urban to relatively undeveloped areas, from the tropics to the arctic – and are recognized as a critical environmental issue. Certain biotic and abiotic factors (such as soil fauna and wind, respectively) may affect the distribution of microplastics in the environment. For example, it has been reported that earthworms (Lumbricidae) can incidentally ingest microplastics (Sci Rep 2017; doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-01594-7), and springtails (Collembola) crawl over and push microplastics aimlessly in laboratory settings (Environ Pollut 2017; doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.03.009). However, we found that – unlike the accidental transport of microplastics by these fauna – ants (Pheidole sp; body length ~2 mm) were seemingly interested in microplastics, and actively carried them to their nests in both the field and lab.