TY - JOUR
T1 - Synthetic Microfiber Material Influences Ingestion by Freshwater Worms
AU - Martinez, Sarah A.
AU - Simon, Conner J.
AU - Cohen, Risa A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2023/5
Y1 - 2023/5
N2 - Plastics enter the environment, amongst others, from synthetic textiles, which shed microplastic fibers (microfibers) during their production, use and disposal. We tested whether short- and long-term effects of microfibers on the aquatic worm, Lumbriculus variegatus, depend on the synthetic microfiber material. Microcosms containing L. variegatus were exposed to no microfibers (control) or one of three polymer treatments (nylon, polyester, or olefin) at 5 g of microfibers kg-1 of sediment for 48 h or 28 days. Following exposure, L. variegatus were counted, weighed, and the number of microfibers ingested determined. Polyester microfibers occurred in higher quantities (10–12) than nylon and olefin (< one) per individual after 48 h and 28 days. Only the olefin per individual doubled after 28 days compared to 48 h. These findings indicate that polyester microfibers are more likely to affect L. variegatus and have greater potential to be ingested by higher trophic levels than other polymers.
AB - Plastics enter the environment, amongst others, from synthetic textiles, which shed microplastic fibers (microfibers) during their production, use and disposal. We tested whether short- and long-term effects of microfibers on the aquatic worm, Lumbriculus variegatus, depend on the synthetic microfiber material. Microcosms containing L. variegatus were exposed to no microfibers (control) or one of three polymer treatments (nylon, polyester, or olefin) at 5 g of microfibers kg-1 of sediment for 48 h or 28 days. Following exposure, L. variegatus were counted, weighed, and the number of microfibers ingested determined. Polyester microfibers occurred in higher quantities (10–12) than nylon and olefin (< one) per individual after 48 h and 28 days. Only the olefin per individual doubled after 28 days compared to 48 h. These findings indicate that polyester microfibers are more likely to affect L. variegatus and have greater potential to be ingested by higher trophic levels than other polymers.
KW - Aquatic
KW - Lumbriculus variegatus
KW - Microplastics
KW - Pollution
KW - Sediment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85156102882&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00128-023-03725-5
DO - 10.1007/s00128-023-03725-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 37119338
AN - SCOPUS:85156102882
SN - 0007-4861
VL - 110
JO - Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
JF - Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
IS - 5
M1 - 87
ER -