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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Influence of biological filtration by ascidians on microplastic composition in the water column
ClearInfluence of biological filtration by ascidians on microplastic composition in the water column
Researchers examined how biological filtration by ascidians (filter-feeding tunicates) alters the composition and properties of microplastics in the water column, tracking particle changes as they pass through the digestive system and assessing how ascidians influence microplastic transfer in the benthic-pelagic food web.
Effects of biological filtration by ascidians on microplastic composition in the water column
The ascidian Styela plicata efficiently filtered 2–5 µm microplastics from the water column, preferentially removing polystyrene over biodegradable PLA particles; the resulting fecal pellets altered the sinking rate of MPs, affecting their vertical transport through the marine food web.
Rising tide of microplastics: contamination in filter-feeding ascidians
Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in filter-feeding ascidians, which serve as bioindicators in marine pollution monitoring and evolutionary biology models. Microplastics were detected in ascidian tissues, with accumulation patterns reflecting local water contamination levels.
Rising tide of microplastics: contamination in filter-feeding ascidians
This study assessed microplastic contamination in ascidians, marine filter feeders that play key roles in ocean health and are used as models in evolutionary and pollution biology. Microplastics were detected in ascidian tissues, with the study examining how filter feeding concentrates plastic particles and what developmental consequences may result.
A Novel Approach to Bio-Friendly Microplastic Extraction with Ascidians
Researchers developed a novel approach using ascidians — filter-feeding marine invertebrates — to extract microplastics from water in a biologically inspired, non-chemical method. Ascidians naturally pump large volumes of water through their bodies and can accumulate plastic particles. This bio-friendly method could form the basis of scalable, low-energy ocean microplastic removal strategies.
Vertical transport of marine microplastics mediated by filter-feeding organisms
Researchers used sediment traps to quantify how filter-feeding organisms — including sea squirts, Pacific oysters, scallops, and Manila clams — contribute to vertical microplastic transport in the water column, finding that MP-laden faeces and pseudofaeces from these organisms act as a biologically mediated pathway for sinking surface MP to the seafloor.
Mixotrophic flagellate ingestion boosts microplastic accumulation in ascidians
Researchers exposed filter-feeding ascidian juveniles to polystyrene microplastics in the presence or absence of mixotrophic cryptomonad flagellates in controlled laboratory conditions to test whether trophic transfer enhances microplastic bioaccumulation. They found that cryptomonads efficiently ingested microbeads and their presence significantly increased microplastic concentrations in ascidian digestive tracts, demonstrating trophic transfer and bioaccumulation at the base of the marine food chain.
The relationship between Ascidians and plastic pollution: A systematic review of interaction mechanisms, biological impacts, and ecological roles
This systematic review looks at how sea squirts (ascidians), which are filter-feeding marine animals, interact with microplastic pollution. The research found that these organisms consistently accumulate microplastics and suffer significant health effects at the cellular level, making them useful indicators of ocean plastic contamination. Since ascidians are part of the marine food web, their plastic accumulation can contribute to the transfer of microplastics up the food chain.
Detection of Microplastic contamination in shallow marine habitats using solitary ascidians: Influence of morphology and habitat in a tropical bay, SW Atlantic
Researchers investigated microplastic ingestion in four ascidian species with differing oral tentacle morphology and branchial fold complexity collected from sites with and without harbour influence in a tropical bay in the SW Atlantic, sampling across summer and winter seasons. Results showed that species morphology influenced microplastic retention, and proximity to harbour activities elevated microplastic concentrations in filter-feeding ascidians.
Particle uptake by filter-feeding macrofoulers from the Mar Grande of Taranto (Mediterranean Sea, Italy): potential as microplastic pollution bioremediators
This study assessed microplastic uptake by filter-feeding fouling organisms including mussels and ascidians from the Gulf of Taranto in the Mediterranean, finding that these organisms ingest microplastics from surrounding seawater and may hold promise as bioremediators capable of reducing local microplastic loads.
The relationship between Ascidians and plastic pollution: A systematic review of interaction mechanisms, biological impacts, and ecological roles
This systematic review examines how sea squirts interact with micro- and nanoplastic pollution in ocean environments. These filter-feeding animals consistently accumulate plastic particles and show significant cellular damage as a result, making them useful biological indicators of marine plastic contamination. The findings illustrate how microplastics move through marine food webs, with implications for the seafood that ends up on our plates.
Use of pelagic tunicate Salpa fusiformis as biological sampler to estimate in-situ density of microplastics smaller than 330 μm
Researchers found that the gut contents of salps — ocean filter feeders — closely mirror the microplastic composition of surrounding seawater, making them a useful biological sampler for estimating concentrations of very small microplastics (under 330 micrometers) that standard nets cannot capture. This method could help fill a major gap in ocean microplastic monitoring and improve estimates of how much small plastic is circulating in marine food webs.
Baseline survey of microplastics in Phallusia nigra (Ascidiacea) in different sites along the Brazilian Coast, Central, and Southwest Atlantic
Researchers conducted a baseline survey of microplastic accumulation in the tropical ascidian Phallusia nigra collected from different sites, finding that this filter-feeding tunicate accumulates MPs and can serve as a bioindicator of marine microplastic contamination in tropical coastal ecosystems.
Understanding the influence of biota in the transfer of different sized microplastics between environmental compartments of marine ecosystem
This study investigated how marine micro- and macro-biota influence the transport of microplastics between environmental compartments such as water, sediment, and organisms, finding that biological interactions substantially alter the distribution of particles beyond what hydrodynamics alone would predict.
Baseline survey of microplastics in Phallusia nigra (Ascidiacea) in different sites along the Brazilian Coast, Central, and Southwest Atlantic
Researchers found microplastics in 64% of Phallusia nigra ascidians sampled from 15 sites along the Brazilian coast, with a mean of 1.21 particles per individual, predominantly fragments and fibers, and polyethylene as the most common polymer type.
Microplastic accumulation, depuration dynamics and localization in environmental compartments: combination of experimental set ups and field studies
Researchers used microcosm experiments to track microplastic accumulation, depuration, and tissue localization in marine organisms under environmentally relevant conditions. The study found that organisms can accumulate and partially depurate microplastics, with particle retention varying by tissue type and particle size.
Is the feeding type related with the content of microplastics in intertidal fish gut?
Researchers compared microplastic ingestion across intertidal fish with different feeding strategies and found that feeding type influenced the amount of plastic found in stomachs. The study suggests that filter feeders and detritivores may ingest more microplastics than active predators, linking ecological role to plastic exposure risk.
The sea cucumber Holothuria tubulosa does not reduce the size of microplastics but enhances their resuspension in the water column
Researchers found that the Mediterranean sea cucumber Holothuria tubulosa does not reduce the size of ingested microplastics through digestive processing, but instead enhances their resuspension into the water column via pseudofeces, meaning these bioturbators may redistribute rather than sequester microplastics in marine sediments.
Mussels facilitate the sinking of microplastics to bottom sediments and their subsequent uptake by detritus-feeders
This laboratory study found that filter-feeding mussels accelerate the sinking of microplastics from the water surface to the seafloor through their fecal pellets, and that these microplastic-containing pellets are subsequently ingested by bottom-feeding polychaete worms. This two-step biological transfer explains how microplastics from surface waters reach and accumulate in benthic organisms and sediments.
Functional study of the ingestion and excretion of microplastics by marine coastal copepods
This study examined how marine coastal copepods ingest and excrete microplastics and assessed their role as vectors for plastic dispersal in the water column. Copepods readily ingested microplastics, retained particles for variable periods depending on size and feeding rate, and excreted aggregated fecal pellets that could redistribute plastics vertically in the ocean.
Microplastics abundance in marine sediments and stomach contents of benthic organisms
Researchers quantified microplastic abundance in marine sediments and benthic organism stomachs across the Eastern South Pacific Ocean and Southern Caribbean Sea, finding finer sediments retained more microplastics, blue and red fibers under 2 mm dominated both regions, and polychaetes were the primary consumers — making them useful bioindicators of microplastic pollution.
The abundance of microplastics in cnidaria and ctenophora in the North Sea
Researchers found microplastics in cnidarians and ctenophores collected from the North Sea, including jellyfish species and comb jellies, demonstrating that these gelatinous zooplankton ingest plastic particles and may serve as a vector transferring microplastics through marine food webs.
An assessment of the ability to ingest and excrete microplastics by filter-feeders: A case study with the Mediterranean mussel
Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) were exposed to spherical polystyrene microplastics of different sizes and concentrations and examined for tissue-level effects and ingestion/egestion dynamics, with smaller particles showing greater retention and histological changes in digestive tissue. The study provides detailed pathophysiological evidence that MP size governs both retention time and the severity of tissue-level effects in marine filter feeders.
Microplastics inside bodies: contamination of MPs in Phallusia nigra
Researchers investigated microplastic contamination in Phallusia nigra, a sessile marine invertebrate ascidian that filter-feeds via inhalant and exhalant siphons and commonly inhabits artificial coastal structures, harbors, and ship hulls in warm waters from Bermuda to Brazil. The study examined P. nigra as a potential bioindicator for microplastic pollution given its proximity to coastal contamination sources and existing use as a sentinel species for heavy metals and organic pollutants.