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Microplastic characteristics in organisms of different trophic levels from Liaohe Estuary, China

The Science of The Total Environment 2021 125 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 50 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Jianli Liu, Jianli Liu, Feifei Wang, Feifei Wang, Qiujin Xu, Qiujin Xu, Lihui An Jianli Liu, Lihui An Qiujin Xu, Qiujin Xu, Qiujin Xu, Jianli Liu, Jianli Liu, Jianli Liu, Qiujin Xu, Luo Wang, Luo Wang, Haiwen Wu, Haiwen Wu, Haiwen Wu, Haiwen Wu, Haiwen Wu, Haiwen Wu, Luo Wang, Haiwen Wu, Haiwen Wu, Haiwen Wu, Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Wennan Wu, Haiwen Wu, Wennan Wu, Wennan Wu, Lihui An Lihui An Jianli Liu, Lihui An Lihui An Qiujin Xu, Qiujin Xu, Feifei Wang, Luo Wang, Haiwen Wu, Wennan Wu, Wennan Wu, Qiujin Xu, Haiwen Wu, Wennan Wu, Lihui An Qiujin Xu, Lihui An Jianli Liu, Luo Wang, Qiujin Xu, Lihui An Feifei Wang, Lihui An Qiujin Xu, Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Qiujin Xu, Lihui An Qiujin Xu, Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Qiujin Xu, Qiujin Xu, Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Qiujin Xu, Qiujin Xu, Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Qiujin Xu, Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Jianli Liu, Haiwen Wu, Qiujin Xu, Qiujin Xu, Feifei Wang, Feifei Wang, Lihui An Haiwen Wu, Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An Jianli Liu, Lihui An Lihui An Lihui An

Summary

Researchers collected organisms from multiple trophic levels at Liaohe Estuary, China, and measured microplastic ingestion across primary consumers, secondary consumers, and top predators, finding that MP abundance did not increase consistently with trophic level, suggesting complex feeding and depuration dynamics.

Polymers

PE PET PP

Microplastics are a growing concern globally due to their small size and easy ingestion by terrestrial and aquatic organisms, resulting in potential adverse impacts on wildlife. However, current data regarding microplastics in wild organisms in different trophic levels is limited. This study investigated microplastic characteristics, including their abundance, size, shape and polymer type, in estuarine invertebrates and vertebrates. Resultantly, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) were the predominant microplastics found, as confirmed by a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR). An average microplastic abundance of 0.83 ± 0.99 to 3.87 ± 2.18 items/individual was detected across all species, including sandworm, mollusks, crustacean and fish, but they were not found in all individuals. Microplastics ranged from 52 μm to 5392 μm in size, and the shapes were consisted of fiber, fragment, and pellet. Moreover, the detection ratio (91.95%) and abundance (3.34 ± 2.17 items/individual) of microplastics in fish were significantly higher than in sandworm (42.86%, 0.88 ± 1.04 items/individual), mollusks (66.97%, 1.42 ± 1.41 items/individual) and crustaceans (66.66%, 1.33 ± 1.32 items/individual) (p < 0.05). Furthermore, a positive relationship was identified between microplastic abundance and the trophic level of organisms. These findings imply that microplastics might transfer along the food chain and accumulate at organisms in higher trophic levels.

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