191
ingested, either by mistake or because the organism is not
selective in feeding, information about the effects is limited.
The exposure to MPs will largely depend on the habitat of
the organism (water surface, water column, sediment) and
the feeding type (predatory, herbivory, planktivory). How the
MPs affect the organism after ingestion is largely unknown
but depends most likely very much on specific properties of
the MPs (polymer type, size, shape) as well as life stage of
the organism. The interaction of MPs with adsorbed pollutants seems to be negligible compared to already existing
pathways (food, water), however, the effect of leaching additives is not yet determined. Thus, the effects of MPs on
organisms still need intense research activities to come up
with proper risk assessments for different life stages of different species to determine, who is most at risk and how to
protect them.
Appendix
This article is related to the YOUMARES 8 conference session no. 13: “Microplastics in Aquatic Habitats – Environmental
Concentrations and Consequences”. The original Call for
Abstracts and the abstracts of the presentations within this session can be found in the appendix “Conference Sessions and
Abstracts”, chapter “12 Microplastics in Aquatic Habitats –
Environmental Concentrations and Consequences”, of this
book.
References
Andrady AL (2017) The plastic in microplastics: a review. Mar Pollut
Bull 119:12–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.01.082
Avio CG, Gorbi S, Regoli F (2015) Experimental development of a
new protocol for extraction and characterization of microplastics in
fish tissues: first observations in commercial species from Adriatic
Sea. Mar Environ Res 111:18–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marenvres.2015.06.014
Avio CG, Gorbi S, Regoli F (2017) Plastics and microplastics in the
oceans: from emerging pollutants to emerged threat. Mar Environ
Res 128:2–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.05.012
Barrows APW, Neumann CA, Berger ML et al (2017) Grab vs. neuston
tow net: a microplastic sampling performance comparison and possible advances in the field. Anal Methods 9:1446–1453. https://doi.
org/10.1039/C6AY02387H
Bergmann M, Tekman MB, Gutow L (2017) LITTERBASE: an
online portal for marine litter and microplastics and their implications for marine life. In: Baztan J, Jorgensen B, Pahl S et al (eds)
Fate and impact of microplastics in marine ecosystems. Elsevier,
MICRO 2016, Amsterdam, pp 106–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/
B978-0-12-812271-6.00104-6
Besley A, Vijver MG, Behrens P et al (2017) A standardized method for
sampling and extraction methods for quantifying microplastics in
beach sand. Mar Pollut Bull 114:77–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marpolbul.2016.08.055
Besseling E, Foekema EM, Van Franeker JA et al (2015) Microplastic
in a macro filter feeder: humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae. Mar Pollut Bull 95:248–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marpolbul.2015.04.007
Brennecke D, Ferreira EC, Costa TMM et al (2015) Ingested microplastics (>100 μm) are translocated to organs of the tropical fiddler crab
Uca rapax. Mar Pollut Bull 96:491–495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marpolbul.2015.05.001
Browne MA, Chapman MG, Thompson RC et al (2015) Spatial and
temporal patterns of stranded intertidal marine debris: is there a picture of global change? Environ Sci Technol 49:7082–7094. https://
doi.org/10.1021/es5060572
Bürkle GmbH (2015) Chemische Beständigkeit von Kunststoffen.
Bürkle GmbH. URL:www.buerkle.de/files_pdf/wissenswertes/
chemical_resistance_en.pdf. Accessed 03 Aug 2017
Carson HS, Colbert SL, Kaylor MJ et al (2011) Small plastic debris
changes water movement and heat transfer through beach sediments. Mar Pollut Bull 62:1708–1713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marpolbul.2011.05.032
Chae D-H, Kim I-S, Kim S-K et al (2015) Abundance and distribution
characteristics of microplastics in surface seawaters of the Incheon/
Kyeonggi coastal region. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 69:269–
278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-015-0173-4
Chubarenko I, Bagaev A, Zobkov M et al (2016) On some physical
and dynamical properties of microplastic particles in marine environment. Mar Pollut Bull 108:105–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marpolbul.2016.04.048
Claessens M, Meester SD, Landuyt LV et al (2011) Occurrence and
distribution of microplastics in marine sediments along the Belgian
coast. Mar Pollut Bull 62:2199–2204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marpolbul.2011.06.030
Claessens M, Van Cauwenberghe L, Vandegehuchte MB et al (2013)
New techniques for the detection of microplastics in sediments and
field collected organisms. Mar Pollut Bull 70:227–233. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.03.009
Cole M, Webb H, Lindeque PK et al (2014) Isolation of microplastics in
biota-rich seawater samples and marine organisms. Sci Rep 4:4528.
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep04528
Collard F, Gilbert B, Eppe G et al (2015) Detection of anthropogenic
particles in fish stomachs: an isolation method adapted to identification by Raman spectroscopy. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol
69:331–339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-015-0221-0
Connors KA, Dyer SD, Belanger SE (2017) Advancing the quality
of environmental microplastic research. Environ Toxicol Chem
36:1697–1703. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.3829
Coppock RL, Cole M, Lindeque PK et al (2017) A small-scale, portable
method for extracting microplastics from marine sediments. Environ
Pollut 230:829–837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.07.017
Corcoran PL (2015) Benthic plastic debris in marine and fresh water
environments. Env Sci Process Impact 17:1363–1369. https://doi.
org/10.1039/c5em00188a
Corcoran PL, Biesinger MC, Grifi M (2009) Plastics and beaches: a
degrading relationship. Mar Pollut Bull 58:80–84. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2008.08.022
Costa MF, Duarte AC (2017) Microplastics sampling and sample
handling. Compr Anal Chem 75:25–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/
bs.coac.2016.11.002
Courtene-Jones W, Quinn B, Murphy F et al (2017) Optimisation
of enzymatic digestion and validation of specimen preservation
methods for the analysis of ingested microplastics. Anal Methods
9:1437–1445. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6AY02343F
Crichton EM, Noel M, Gies EA et al (2017) A novel, densityindependent and FTIR-compatible approach for the rapid extraction
of microplastics from aquatic sediments. Anal Methods 9:1419–
1428. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6AY02733D
De Witte B, Devriese L, Bekaert K et al (2014) Quality assessment
of the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis): comparison between comMicroplastics in Aquatic Systems – Monitoring Methods and Biological Consequences
ingested, either by mistake or because the organism is not
selective in feeding, information about the effects is limited.
The exposure to MPs will largely depend on the habitat of
the organism (water surface, water column, sediment) and
the feeding type (predatory, herbivory, planktivory). How the
MPs affect the organism after ingestion is largely unknown
but depends most likely very much on specific properties of
the MPs (polymer type, size, shape) as well as life stage of
the organism. The interaction of MPs with adsorbed pollutants seems to be negligible compared to already existing
pathways (food, water), however, the effect of leaching additives is not yet determined. Thus, the effects of MPs on
organisms still need intense research activities to come up
with proper risk assessments for different life stages of different species to determine, who is most at risk and how to
protect them.
Appendix
This article is related to the YOUMARES 8 conference session no. 13: “Microplastics in Aquatic Habitats – Environmental
Concentrations and Consequences”. The original Call for
Abstracts and the abstracts of the presentations within this session can be found in the appendix “Conference Sessions and
Abstracts”, chapter “12 Microplastics in Aquatic Habitats –
Environmental Concentrations and Consequences”, of this
book.
References
Andrady AL (2017) The plastic in microplastics: a review. Mar Pollut
Bull 119:12–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.01.082
Avio CG, Gorbi S, Regoli F (2015) Experimental development of a
new protocol for extraction and characterization of microplastics in
fish tissues: first observations in commercial species from Adriatic
Sea. Mar Environ Res 111:18–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marenvres.2015.06.014
Avio CG, Gorbi S, Regoli F (2017) Plastics and microplastics in the
oceans: from emerging pollutants to emerged threat. Mar Environ
Res 128:2–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.05.012
Barrows APW, Neumann CA, Berger ML et al (2017) Grab vs. neuston
tow net: a microplastic sampling performance comparison and possible advances in the field. Anal Methods 9:1446–1453. https://doi.
org/10.1039/C6AY02387H
Bergmann M, Tekman MB, Gutow L (2017) LITTERBASE: an
online portal for marine litter and microplastics and their implications for marine life. In: Baztan J, Jorgensen B, Pahl S et al (eds)
Fate and impact of microplastics in marine ecosystems. Elsevier,
MICRO 2016, Amsterdam, pp 106–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/
B978-0-12-812271-6.00104-6
Besley A, Vijver MG, Behrens P et al (2017) A standardized method for
sampling and extraction methods for quantifying microplastics in
beach sand. Mar Pollut Bull 114:77–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marpolbul.2016.08.055
Besseling E, Foekema EM, Van Franeker JA et al (2015) Microplastic
in a macro filter feeder: humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae. Mar Pollut Bull 95:248–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marpolbul.2015.04.007
Brennecke D, Ferreira EC, Costa TMM et al (2015) Ingested microplastics (>100 μm) are translocated to organs of the tropical fiddler crab
Uca rapax. Mar Pollut Bull 96:491–495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marpolbul.2015.05.001
Browne MA, Chapman MG, Thompson RC et al (2015) Spatial and
temporal patterns of stranded intertidal marine debris: is there a picture of global change? Environ Sci Technol 49:7082–7094. https://
doi.org/10.1021/es5060572
Bürkle GmbH (2015) Chemische Beständigkeit von Kunststoffen.
Bürkle GmbH. URL:www.buerkle.de/files_pdf/wissenswertes/
chemical_resistance_en.pdf. Accessed 03 Aug 2017
Carson HS, Colbert SL, Kaylor MJ et al (2011) Small plastic debris
changes water movement and heat transfer through beach sediments. Mar Pollut Bull 62:1708–1713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marpolbul.2011.05.032
Chae D-H, Kim I-S, Kim S-K et al (2015) Abundance and distribution
characteristics of microplastics in surface seawaters of the Incheon/
Kyeonggi coastal region. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 69:269–
278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-015-0173-4
Chubarenko I, Bagaev A, Zobkov M et al (2016) On some physical
and dynamical properties of microplastic particles in marine environment. Mar Pollut Bull 108:105–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marpolbul.2016.04.048
Claessens M, Meester SD, Landuyt LV et al (2011) Occurrence and
distribution of microplastics in marine sediments along the Belgian
coast. Mar Pollut Bull 62:2199–2204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
marpolbul.2011.06.030
Claessens M, Van Cauwenberghe L, Vandegehuchte MB et al (2013)
New techniques for the detection of microplastics in sediments and
field collected organisms. Mar Pollut Bull 70:227–233. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.03.009
Cole M, Webb H, Lindeque PK et al (2014) Isolation of microplastics in
biota-rich seawater samples and marine organisms. Sci Rep 4:4528.
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep04528
Collard F, Gilbert B, Eppe G et al (2015) Detection of anthropogenic
particles in fish stomachs: an isolation method adapted to identification by Raman spectroscopy. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol
69:331–339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-015-0221-0
Connors KA, Dyer SD, Belanger SE (2017) Advancing the quality
of environmental microplastic research. Environ Toxicol Chem
36:1697–1703. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.3829
Coppock RL, Cole M, Lindeque PK et al (2017) A small-scale, portable
method for extracting microplastics from marine sediments. Environ
Pollut 230:829–837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.07.017
Corcoran PL (2015) Benthic plastic debris in marine and fresh water
environments. Env Sci Process Impact 17:1363–1369. https://doi.
org/10.1039/c5em00188a
Corcoran PL, Biesinger MC, Grifi M (2009) Plastics and beaches: a
degrading relationship. Mar Pollut Bull 58:80–84. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2008.08.022
Costa MF, Duarte AC (2017) Microplastics sampling and sample
handling. Compr Anal Chem 75:25–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/
bs.coac.2016.11.002
Courtene-Jones W, Quinn B, Murphy F et al (2017) Optimisation
of enzymatic digestion and validation of specimen preservation
methods for the analysis of ingested microplastics. Anal Methods
9:1437–1445. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6AY02343F
Crichton EM, Noel M, Gies EA et al (2017) A novel, densityindependent and FTIR-compatible approach for the rapid extraction
of microplastics from aquatic sediments. Anal Methods 9:1419–
1428. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6AY02733D
De Witte B, Devriese L, Bekaert K et al (2014) Quality assessment
of the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis): comparison between comMicroplastics in Aquatic Systems – Monitoring Methods and Biological Consequences