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The Fate of Microplastics Ingested by Gryllodes sigillatus
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This thesis investigated the fate of microplastics ingested by the banded cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus), developing a new protocol for extracting and quantifying microplastics from insect tissues. The study also explored how crickets process and potentially fragment ingested plastic particles.
Plastic pollution has become a major concern in almost every natural environment. As plastics enter an environment, they undergo a degradation process and can become microplastics (MPs; plastics smaller than 5 mm). Thus far, most MPs research has focused on aquatic, rather than terrestrial environments, and standardized methods of plastic extraction and quantification from animals living in the latter are needed. For my thesis, I aimed to understand the fates of MPs ingested by the generalist insect, Gryllodes sigillatus. In chapter 2, I developed a new, clearly laid out protocol on how MPs can be extracted and characterized within a laboratory setting after they have been ingested by an animal. In chapter 3, I used this method to investigate the effects of the cricket digestive system on ingested MPs, and found that crickets radically physically degrade microplastics and may therefore serve as a path for plastic transformation in natural environments.
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The digestive system of a cricket pulverizes polyethylene microplastics down to the nanoplastic scale
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This study found that crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) physically ground ingested polyethylene microplastics down to nanoplastic-scale particles through their digestive processes, a finding with implications for how insects contribute to nanoplastic generation and dispersal in terrestrial ecosystems.
The digestive system of a cricket pulverizes polyethylene microplastics
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Researchers fed crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) fluorescent polyethylene microplastics at concentrations of 0-10% (w/w) and dissected gut regions to track particle size changes along the digestive tract. Crickets egested particles substantially smaller than those ingested, with fragmentation occurring early in digestion, suggesting generalist insects can transform ingested microplastics into nanoplastic-range particles.
Developmental Effects of Microplastic Ingestion on the Tropical House Cricket Gryllodes sigillatus
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Researchers fed crickets diets containing different concentrations of polyethylene microbeads and polyester microfibers, finding that both types reduced body weight gain and development compared to controls. This is one of the few studies on microplastic effects on terrestrial insects, which are important for food webs, pollination, and nutrient cycling.
Defecation in preparation for ecdysis drives microplastic clearance in cricket nymphs
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A study of cricket nymphs (Gryllodes sigillatus) found that microplastics are primarily cleared from the gut not by moulting of the gut lining as previously assumed, but by the purging of gut contents that occurs in preparation for each moult, following a cyclical pattern. Understanding how terrestrial insects clear microplastics matters for food web modelling, since insects are a key dietary component for birds, fish, and other animals that could be exposed to plastics through predation.
Ingestion of microplastic fibres, but not microplastic beads, impacts growth rates in the tropical house cricket Gryllodes sigillatus
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Researchers exposed tropical house crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) from hatching to adulthood to diets containing polyethylene microplastic fibers or beads at multiple concentrations, finding that fiber ingestion significantly impaired growth rates while bead ingestion did not, suggesting that plastic morphology determines gut interaction severity and downstream fitness impacts in terrestrial insects.
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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.