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Looking for Nano- and Microplastics in Meiofauna Using Advanced Methodologies
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This study developed new microscopy and spectroscopy methods to detect nano- and microplastics inside meiofauna — the tiny invertebrates (30–1000 µm) living at the bottom of marine and freshwater ecosystems. Because meiofauna are abundant and sit at the base of aquatic food webs, confirming their ingestion of plastic particles is important for understanding how microplastics enter and accumulate up the food chain.
Meiofauna (body size within 30–1000 µm) are the community of microscopic invertebrates that live at the bottom of marine and freshwater ecosystems and play a key role in the food webs of these environments. Several studies have addressed the adverse effects of anthropic stressors on meiofauna; however, data on the presence and impact of plastic debris in wild meiofaunal organisms are scant. Since the amount of microplastic waste in sediments may surge rapidly, ascertaining the ingestion of these xenobiotics by the abundant micrometazoan community is necessary to understand their potential accumulation in aquatic food webs and their hazard to the health of the ecosystem. The absence of documentation in this regard may be due to the difficulty in detecting the small size of the plastic fragments meiofauna may potentially ingest. To overcome this difficulty, we developed an integrated approach based on different microscopic/spectroscopic techniques suitable for detecting plastic particles of sizes down to 200 nm.
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This Croatian-language review examines the impact of microplastics on meiofauna—the small invertebrates that form a critical component of benthic food webs. The review covers how microplastics enter marine environments, their ubiquitous distribution, and the direct and synergistic harmful effects on meiofaunal organisms observed so far. Given projections of increasing plastic pollution, the authors stress the urgency of understanding microplastic impacts on this understudied but ecologically important group.
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Researchers developed improved methods for quantifying very small microplastic particles (roughly 1 to 300 micrometers) in freshwater systems, showing that conventional sampling dramatically underestimates plastic particle counts. Accurately measuring this smaller size fraction is critical for understanding real-world microplastic concentrations and their biological impacts.
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Spectro‐Microscopic Techniques for Studying Nanoplastics in the Environment and in Organisms
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This review examined spectro-microscopic techniques available for detecting and studying nanoplastics in environmental and biological samples. The study highlights that detecting nanoplastics remains challenging because their small size falls below the detection limits of common analytical tools, and their chemical composition is similar to organic matrices, making identification difficult.
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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.