We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Stressor Exposures Determine Risk: So, Why Do Fellow Scientists Continue To Focus on Superficial Microplastics Risk?
AI summary Read the abstract
This commentary challenges the field's focus on microplastic concentrations in isolation, arguing that stressor exposures determine risk and urging researchers to consider realistic environmental conditions, bioavailability, and co-occurring stressors when assessing ecological harm.
ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEViewpointNEXTStressor Exposures Determine Risk: So, Why Do Fellow Scientists Continue To Focus on Superficial Microplastics Risk?G. Allen Burton, Jr.View Author Information University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United StatesCite this: Environ. Sci. Technol. 2017, 51, 23, 13515–13516Publication Date (Web):November 17, 2017Publication History Received25 October 2017Published online17 November 2017Published inissue 5 December 2017https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.7b05463https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b05463newsACS PublicationsCopyright © 2017 American Chemical Society. This publication is available under these Terms of Use. Request reuse permissions This publication is free to access through this site. Learn MoreArticle Views11290Altmetric-Citations88LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail PDF (670 KB) Get e-AlertscloseSUBJECTS:Environmental pollution,Environmental science,Organic polymers,Quality management Get e-Alerts
More Papers Like This
Accounting for species traits and exposure complexity to understand organism responses to microplastics and multistressors
AI summary Read the abstract
This review paper argues that scientists have been studying microplastics too simply, testing one plastic type at a time without considering how factors like plastic age, chemical coatings, and other environmental stressors (like pollution or heat) combine to affect living things differently. The authors say we need more realistic experiments that reflect how microplastics actually behave in nature, because right now our risk assessments may be underestimating or misjudging the real dangers these particles pose to organisms, and ultimately to the food chains humans depend on.
Freshwater systems in the Anthropocene: why we need to evaluate microplastics in the context of multiple stressors
AI summary Read the abstract
Real-world organisms are exposed to microplastics alongside many other environmental stressors — temperature change, chemical pollutants, habitat degradation — yet most lab studies test microplastics in isolation. This review argues that ecotoxicology needs to adopt a multi-stressor approach to truly understand how microplastics affect freshwater life at every level, from individual cells to whole ecosystems. Without this broader context, risk assessments will consistently underestimate the actual harm microplastics cause in nature.
Micro/nanoplastics effects on organisms: A review focusing on ‘dose’
AI summary Read the abstract
This critical review examined published dose-response data for microplastic effects on organisms, finding that the vast majority of studies used concentrations far exceeding measured environmental levels and calling for greater focus on realistic exposure scenarios to produce ecologically meaningful hazard assessments.
Microplastics: addressing ecological risk through lessons learned
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers reviewed the current state of microplastic ecological risk assessment and proposed applying lessons learned from more established fields of environmental research. The study suggests that despite widespread concern about microplastic pollution, scientific understanding of actual ecological risk remains limited, and future research should follow more rigorous risk assessment frameworks.
Microplastic exposure studies should be environmentally realistic
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers argue that many laboratory studies on microplastic effects use concentrations far higher than what is actually found in the environment, which can lead to misleading conclusions about real-world risks. They call for experiments that better reflect environmental conditions, including realistic particle sizes, shapes, and concentrations. The study emphasizes that more environmentally relevant research is needed to accurately assess the true ecological threat of microplastic pollution.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.