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Microplastic fragmentation by rotifers in aquatic ecosystems contributes to global nanoplastic pollution
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This is a source dataset for a study demonstrating that rotifers — tiny aquatic organisms — fragment microplastics into nanoplastics through feeding, contributing to global nanoplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems.
Source data sets of figures in the manuscript entitled “Microplastic fragmentation by rotifers in aquatic ecosystems contributes to global nanoplastic pollution”.
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Microplastic fragmentation by rotifers in aquatic ecosystems contributes to global nanoplastic pollution
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists discovered that rotifers, tiny zooplankton found in water bodies worldwide, grind microplastics into nanoplastics during feeding, generating over 34,000 submicron particles per animal per day. Both marine and freshwater rotifers could fragment multiple plastic types, including polyethylene and polystyrene. This finding reveals a previously unknown biological pathway that is constantly converting microplastics into even smaller and potentially more dangerous nanoplastics in water systems globally.
Small-Sized Microplastics Negatively Affect Rotifers: Changes in the Key Life-History Traits and Rotifer–Phaeocystis Population Dynamics
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Researchers found that small-sized microplastics negatively affected rotifer survival, reproduction, and feeding rates, and also disrupted the population dynamics of rotifers interacting with the harmful alga Phaeocystis in coastal water microcosms.
The potential of Lecane rotifers in microplastics removal
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Researchers investigated the ability of Lecane inermis rotifers to remove microplastics from water, demonstrating that these small organisms can ingest and potentially help clear suspended plastic particles from aquatic environments.
From ingestion to aggregation: contrasting roles of prey and predator in microplastic processing by freshwater rotifers
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Tiny freshwater organisms called rotifers eat microplastics and can even pack them into waste pellets that sink, potentially helping remove plastic from water. But when one rotifer species preys on another, it disrupts this natural cleanup process, showing that who eats whom in nature affects where microplastics end up, including possibly in the water and food we rely on.
Variable Fitness Response of Two Rotifer Species Exposed to Microplastics Particles: The Role of Food Quantity and Quality
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This study examined how different sizes and types of microplastics affect two rotifer species, which are small aquatic animals important to freshwater food webs. The effects varied depending on the particle size, shape, and the amount and quality of food available to the rotifers. The findings show that the impact of microplastics on aquatic organisms depends heavily on environmental context, making risk assessment complex.
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