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Microplastics in four bivalve species and basis for using bivalves as bioindicators of microplastic pollution
The Science of The Total Environment2021
257 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 65
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Jingxi Li,
Chengjun Sun
Peng Ju,
Chengjun Sun
Jinfeng Ding,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jinfeng Ding,
Peng Ju,
Jingxi Li,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jingxi Li,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jingxi Li,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jingxi Li,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jinfeng Ding,
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Peng Ju,
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Peng Ju,
Chengjun Sun
Jingxi Li,
Fengmin Li,
Fengmin Li,
Jingxi Li,
Fengmin Li,
Jingxi Li,
Chengjun Sun
Jingxi Li,
Chengjun Sun
Fengmin Li,
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Jingxi Li,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Peng Ju,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Changfei He,
Changfei He,
Changfei He,
Jingxi Li,
Changfei He,
Chengjun Sun
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Chengjun Sun
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jinfeng Ding,
Fengmin Li,
Fengmin Li,
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Changfei He,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Fengmin Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jinfeng Ding,
Jinfeng Ding,
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Peng Ju,
Fengmin Li,
Chengjun Sun
Fengmin Li,
Peng Ju,
Chengjun Sun
Jinfeng Ding,
Changfei He,
Fengmin Li,
Jingxi Li,
Chengjun Sun
Fengmin Li,
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Jinfeng Ding,
Chengjun Sun
Fengmin Li,
Fengmin Li,
Fengmin Li,
Jingxi Li,
Jingxi Li,
Fengmin Li,
Peng Ju,
Peng Ju,
Peng Ju,
Jingxi Li,
Chengjun Sun
Jingxi Li,
Chengjun Sun
Fengmin Li,
Jingxi Li,
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Peng Ju,
Peng Ju,
Chengjun Sun
Changfei He,
Fengmin Li,
Jingxi Li,
Chengjun Sun
Peng Ju,
Peng Ju,
Fengmin Li,
Changfei He,
Fengmin Li,
Fengmin Li,
Jingxi Li,
Chengjun Sun
Chengjun Sun
Changfei He,
Fengmin Li,
Fengmin Li,
Fengmin Li,
Fengmin Li,
Fengmin Li,
Fengmin Li,
Fengmin Li,
Fengmin Li,
Chengjun Sun
Jingxi Li,
Chengjun Sun
Summary
Researchers found microplastics in 80% of shellfish samples (scallops, mussels, oysters, and clams) collected across four seasons in Qingdao, China. PVC and rayon fibers were the most common plastic types, with different shellfish species accumulating different sizes and types of particles. Since these shellfish are commonly eaten by people, the findings highlight a direct route for microplastics to enter the human diet through seafood.
Microplastics in bivalves have caused widespread concern due to their potential health risk to humans. In this study, microplastics in the digestive systems of four locally cultured bivalve species (scallop Chlamys farreri, mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, oyster Crassostrea gigas, and clam Ruditapes philippinarum) in Qingdao, China, were analyzed and detected in 233 out of 290 bivalve samples (80%) over four seasons. The microplastic abundance in four species of bivalves ranged between 0.5 and 3.3 items/individual or 0.3 and 20.1 items/g wet weight digestive system, with significant species-specific and region-specific differences but no season-specific differences. Microfiber was the most predominant shape of all microplastics found. Eighteen types of polymer with diameters between 7 and 5000 μm were identified by μ-FT-IR (505 of 587 suspected items identified as microplastics) with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and rayon being the most abundant ones. Bivalves collected in summer contained more larger-sized microplastics. R. philippinarum accumulated more smaller-sized microplastics and showed different microplastic features compared with the other three species of bivalves. By comparing and analyzing the microplastic polymer types between each bivalve species and the ambient environment, microplastic in clam can best reflect the variability of microplastic polymer types in sediment among different areas. Mussels can reflect the variability of microplastic polymer types in water to an extent. Therefore, clam and mussel are recommended to serve as bioindicators for microplastic pollution in the sediment and water, respectively. The occurrence of microplastics pollution in bivalves worldwide is wide, and bivalves can act as the transporter of microplastics to humans. Our results suggest that bivalves have an important role as environmental bioindicators and the pollution of microplastics in bivalves needs attention.