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Changes in particle mixing by benthic infauna induced by microplastics: implications for nitrogen cycling in marine sediments
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Researchers found that increasing polypropylene microplastic concentrations impaired deep-burrowing behaviour of the marine worm Macroclymenella stewartensis but not the bivalve Macomona liliana, with microplastics also modifying interspecific relationships and thereby disrupting particle mixing and nutrient cycling processes in marine sediments.
Microplastics modify the relationship between benthic animals and their environment and can alter ecosystem functioning in seafloor habitats. We experimentally investigated shifts in the functional roles of 2 large deposit feeders that influence biogeochemical processes in marine sediments, the tellinid bivalve Macomona liliana and the maldanid worm Macroclymenella stewartensis , as well as a combination of these 2 species. We measured the particle mixing capacity as a proxy for interactions between macrofauna and their environment when exposed to microplastics. Increasing microplastic concentrations (polypropylene, diameter of <500 µm) impaired the deep-burrowing behaviour of M. stewartensis . Particle mixing by M. liliana was not significantly affected by microplastics. Contamination levels of microplastics also modified the relationship between the 2 species. Our study shows that microplastics influence the process of macrofauna transporting particulate resources and regulating nutrient cycling. The degree to which microplastics influence benthic fluxes (oxygen and nitrogen) varies with the functional traits of the macrofaunal species and the concentrations of the microplastics.
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Response of sediment-dwelling bivalves to microplastics and its potential implications for benthic processes
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This microcosm study found that microplastics affect the feeding, burrowing, and bioirrigation behaviors of two sediment-dwelling bivalve species, with effects that could alter benthic nutrient cycling. Changes in bivalve behavior caused by microplastic exposure have broader implications for the ecosystem services these organisms provide in marine sediments.
Macrofauna bioturbation promotes seabed burial of microplastics: a laboratory study
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This laboratory study found that burrowing invertebrates such as polychaete worms and bivalves living in seafloor sediments can actively move microplastics deeper into the sediment through their feeding and burrowing activities. Animal-driven burial of microplastics in marine sediments could reduce their immediate ecological impact on surface communities but increases their long-term residence in the environment.
The role of bioturbation in microplastic burial in marine sediments
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This study found that burrowing marine worms significantly affect microplastic redistribution in sediments, with one polychaete species transporting larger plastic particles to depths of 20 cm through feeding activity — demonstrating that bioturbation plays an important role in burying microplastics in the seafloor.
Impacts of microplastics on marine soft sediment: Changes in bioturbating species and ecosystem functions
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This doctoral thesis investigated how microplastics disrupt ecosystem functioning in marine soft sediments by altering bioturbation activity of key macrofaunal species including a bivalve and a polychaete worm. Results showed that increasing microplastic concentrations reduced bioturbation, impaired nutrient cycling and sediment oxygenation, and interrupted feedback loops between macrofauna and sediment environments, with implications for long-term habitat degradation.
Fauna – Microplastics interactions: Empirical insights from benthos community exposure to marine plastic waste
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Researchers tested how microplastics interact with bottom-dwelling marine communities in a controlled experiment using environmental concentrations of polyethylene fragments. They found that the plastic particles increased mortality in a common bivalve species after 30 days of exposure, while tube-dwelling worms were less affected. Interestingly, the burrowing activity of these animals quickly buried surface microplastics into deeper sediment layers, effectively trapping them but also exposing deep-dwelling organisms.
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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.