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Up and away: ontogenic transference as a pathway for aerial dispersal of microplastics
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Researchers found that microplastics ingested by aquatic invertebrates can be transferred to adult winged insects during metamorphosis and subsequently dispersed aerially, identifying ontogenic transference as a novel pathway for microplastic transport from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems.
Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous pollutants found in marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. With so many MPs in aquatic systems, it is inevitable that they will be ingested by aquatic organisms and be transferred up through the food chain. However, to date, no study has considered whether MPs can be transmitted by means of ontogenic transference, i.e. between life stages that use different habitats. Here, we determine whether fluorescent polystyrene beads could transfer between Culex mosquito life stages and, particularly, could move into the flying adult stage. We show for the first time that MPs can be transferred ontogenically from a feeding (larva) into a non-feeding (pupa) life stage and subsequently into the adult terrestrial life stage. However, transference is dependent on particle size, with smaller 2 µm MPs transferring readily into pupae and adult stages, while 15 µm MPs transferred at a significantly reduced rate. MPs appear to accumulate in the Malpighian tubule renal excretion system. The transfer of MPs to the adults represents a potential aerial pathway to contamination of new environments. Thus, any organism that feeds on terrestrial life phases of freshwater insects could be impacted by MPs found in aquatic ecosystems.
More Papers Like This
Supplementary material from "Up and away: ontogenic transference as a pathway for aerial dispersal of microplastics"
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This supplementary dataset supports a study showing that microplastic particles ingested by aquatic mosquito larvae can transfer to the flying adult stage through metamorphosis, demonstrating a novel pathway for microplastics to move from aquatic to terrestrial and aerial environments. The finding suggests insects could transport microplastics across ecosystem boundaries in ways not previously recognized.
Ontogenetic transfer of microplastics in natural populations of malaria mosquitoes in Western Siberia
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Researchers studied how malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Western Siberia take up microplastics during their aquatic larval stage and carry them through metamorphosis into adulthood. Larvae accumulated millions of polystyrene particles within days, but the number dropped dramatically during each life stage transition, with only a few particles remaining in adult mosquitoes. The study confirms that flying insects can transfer waterborne microplastic pollution into terrestrial environments.
Microplastics associated to emerged aquatic insects highlight a potential pathway of environmental transport: a case study of the mayfly Cloeon dipterum
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Scientists found that mayflies, aquatic insects that spend part of their life in water and part flying on land, can carry tiny plastic particles with them when they emerge from ponds and rivers as adults. This matters because it reveals a previously overlooked way microplastics can travel from water into land ecosystems, potentially entering the diets of birds, bats, and other animals that eat these insects, and ultimately working their way further up the food chain, including to humans who eat those animals or fish. More research is needed to understand exactly how much plastic moves this way and what it means for our health, but this study shows the pathway exists.
Developmental Transfer of Microplastic Particles from Larval to Adult Stages of the Drone Fly Eristalis tenax
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Researchers discovered that microplastic particles consumed by drone fly larvae during their aquatic stage are retained and transferred into the adult flying stage after metamorphosis. This means that microplastics picked up in polluted water can be carried into terrestrial environments when the adult flies emerge and travel. The finding is significant because drone flies are important pollinators, and the transfer of microplastics through their life cycle represents a previously unknown pathway for plastic pollution to move between water and land ecosystems.
Characterizing microplastic ingestion, transformation, and excretion in insects using fluorescent plastics
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Using fluorescent microplastics as tracers, researchers showed that insects can ingest, transform through digestion, and excrete microplastic particles, demonstrating that insects are both exposed to and potential vectors for spreading microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems.
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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.