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Bioaccumulation & Toxicity of Microplastics in Food Chains and Food Web

Technical Report · December 2020

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 INDEPENDENT UNIVERSITY, BANGLADESH

Bioaccumulation & Toxicity of

Microplastics in Food Chains and
Food Web

Nasimur Rahman, Afifa Zaman Shefa, Md. Miskat Sarif

1711033, 1710107, 1420331

Course Environmental Toxicology

Course ID ENV403
Section 01
Semester Autumn 2020
Submitted to Dr. Md. Hafizur Rahman
Contents

ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................2

INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................3

LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................................4

Microplastic in the ocean environment .............................................................................................. 4
Aspects affecting microplastic consumption ...................................................................................... 4
Effect of chemicals on the aquatic environment ................................................................................ 4
Transfer of microplastic in the food chain .......................................................................................... 4

METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................5

FINDINGS & INTERPRETATION .................................................................................6

Effects in aquatic biota: ...................................................................................................................... 6
Effects on primary producers: ............................................................................................................ 6
Effects on aquatic fauna: .................................................................................................................... 7

CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................9

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 10

1
Abstract
The widespread presence and release of microplastic in open seas significantly impact the
marine organism ecosystem. In fact, plastic waste is considered a catalyst for serious-
environment issues. Microplastic also impedes public health by entering the food chain through
the faulty waste management system.
Regarding the aquatic ecosystem, microplastic is found in all domains of the global waters,
starting from the water surface to the benthic zone. Therefore, a wide range of aquatic species
is affected by the plastic litter deposited in the ocean. Many aquatic animals are susceptible to
the chemical constituents' adverse effects present in plastic by intaking microplastic. Moreover,
through trophic level transfer, these harmful elements become a concern for human health.

2
Introduction
To roughly calculate, the quantity of plastic waste gaining access to the sea is approximately 8
million tonnes (Jambeck et al., 2015)1. Subsequently, these microplastics affect more than 690
aquatic organisms’ species (Gall and Thompson, 2015)2. Microplastic origin is derived from
the manufactured plastic that undergoes environmental degradation, which eventually forms
fragmented particles withholding a size of less than 5mm.
There are three major types of microplastic. Primary microplastic is generated from personal
care products in the form of microbeads. Secondary microplastic comes from the
environmental disintegration of source material such as water bottles and plastic bags. Lastly,
tertiary micro plastic arises from plastic pellets used in plastic manufacturing (Carbery et al.,
2018)3.
Through surface run-off, waste discharge, and rivers, microplastics enter the ocean. Plastic
waste is then converted into fragmented particles in the ocean. These particles are dispersed
into the vast ocean and reach the bottom of the food chain, including phytoplankton. The
prompt outcome of microplastics uptake includes physical damage, inflammation, and in
certain instances, death by deprivation of food. However, little information is available on the
long-term effect of microplastic in an organism’s body.
Evidently, microplastic is capable of stockpiling other toxic elements in its structure, present
in the expanse of water (Rochman et al., 2013)4. As a result, a complex compound of a harmful
composite is formed. Through the ingestion of these particles, aquatic organisms are potentially
in threat of major detriment. By the same token, from the aquatic biota, the microplastics enter
the organisms on land.

3
Literature Review
To understand and interpret theoretical and practical standpoints on bioaccumulation and
toxicity of microplastics in food chains and the food web, it was essential to gather relevant
literature and further explore the concept.

Microplastic in the ocean environment

There is substantiate verification about microplastic presence in the form of fragmented
particles in the ocean, citing garments industry and effluent as the primary contributor of
particle’s entrance (Thompson et al, 2004)5. In fact, entities residing in the coastal area are
more prone to the ingestion of microplastics than organisms overseas. Furthermore, the size of
a microplastic is the same as plankton or a single speck of grain. Fishes that sustain on bulk
feeding can ingest an unspecified amount of microplastic during their natural consumption.

Aspects affecting microplastic consumption

The size of the particle determines what an organism is capable of absorption. A living
organism in the top of the water is more vulnerable to microplastic that weighs less than ocean
water, for example, polystyrene and polyethylene. On the other hand, the bottom-dwelling
organisms are inclined to high-density particles such as polyvinyl chloride (Cole et al., 2013)6.
Environmental degradation over time can alter the shape, size, and density of the microplastics
present in the seawater.

Effect of chemicals on the aquatic environment

Regarding the continuous and rising manufacture of upgraded plastic, there are plenty of
aspects for the researchers to decipher. Although plastic is considered non-reactive, following
through several processes can give plastic a long-lasting and invincible structure. As a matter
of fact, plastic consists of a large surface area compared to the volume, which allows
contamination from harmful organic and inorganic substances (Mato et al., 2001)7. Since
plastic is a non-polar element, hydrophobic pollutants are absorbed more readily.

Transfer of microplastic in the food chain

The trophic transfer is a common phenomenon. A comprehensive study was carried out to
determine the transportation of microplastic in the food chain. The microplastic constituents
were supplied to algae, zooplankton, and goldfish (Cedervall et al., 2012)8. Consequently,
compared to the organisms not provided with microplastic, the organisms in taking the particles
took longer to ingest the food. Physical impact displayed a reduction in mass and triglycerides
and cholesterol-related problems (Cedervall et al., 2012)8. Considering the importance of
seafood as a form of nutrients, the existence of microplastic potentially risks the source's
contamination. Microplastic assemblage in the lower level, which is towards the primary
consumer, can conceivably result in the domino effect in the food web. Hence, polluted seafood
can be consumed by humans, which can result in micro plastic contamination.

4
Methodology
Using the ISI Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases, researchers have found the
adverse effects of bioaccumulation of microplastics among the aquatic biota with studies up
to 2018. The biological groups of the organisms chosen to be studied have found many toxic
effects upon the food web.

A significant amount of crucial data was collected through comprehensive research from the
journal, books, and information available. The secondary data collection technique was
incorporated to compile information based on the impacts of microplastic in the food chain.

5
Findings & Interpretation
Effects in aquatic biota:
The toxicity of microplastics in aquatic environments takes a large range of marine classes of
organisms at risk of these types of polluting substances. Microplastics are found to be
ingested by more than six hundred species of marine life. (Provencher et al., 2017)9. The
deterioration the aquatic environment can be seen starting from its direct effects on the health
of aquatic fauna. Globally more than 1.3 billion tons of plastic waste flows into the world’s
oceans and moreover, one time use only plastics have risen in production in recent years
which fill up oceans and land as well with more overwhelming waste than the waste
management systems of any developed country can handle. (CNBC, Emma Newburger et al.,
2020)11. Once ingested, microplastics may induce uncertain consequences to the health of
aquatic organisms (de Sá et al., 2018; Wright et al., 2013)12. Effects on primary producers
are the most crucial among the aquatic primary consumers.

In the table below we can see how much microplastic in amount is dispersed throughout the
aquatic environment all over the world:

Effects on primary producers:

Microplastics' toxic effects upon aquatic phytoplankton have many existing research and
studies focusing on the abnormality of growth of the organisms after being polluted by
microplastics. Microalgae have been seen to have a growth reduction which is inversely
proportional to exposure of microplastics as well as the presence of PVC is shown to have

6
adverse effects of the primary producers losing their ability to produce chlorophyll (Besseling
et al., 2014; Casado et al., 2013; Sjollema et al., 2016).

(Besseling et al., 2014; Casado et al., 2013; Sjollema et al., 2016)15.

Effects on aquatic fauna:

The toxic effects of microplastics acting upon other aquatic fauna commonly occur due to
ingestion. Once the microplastics are ingested by different marine life, the most direct
impacts are usually from the accumulation of these small particles in the organisms' digestive
systems (Wright et al., 2013)13. Therefore, what occurs due to bioaccumulation of these
microplastics is that the ingested particles block the digestive tracts of aquatic fauna, which
makes them have a false sensation of already being fed and then do not look for food or any
sort of consumption, which results in having a dangerously diminished feeding impetus.
Other than this many harmful chemicals cannot be decomposed or be broken down due to its
synthetic nature, these chemicals cannot be eaten or absorbed. A study using the copepod
centropages typicus made it clearer that the temore apparentganisms' consumption rate kept
deteriorating with an increasing amount of microplastics (Cole et al., 2013). Similar results
were also reported by Welden and Cowie (2016) using the crustacean Nephrops norvegicus
and Watts et al. (2015) using the shore crabs called Carcinus maenas.

The consumption of seafood has become a gateway for human microplastic exposure, and
globally seafood intake can be represented as 6.7% of all types of protein that are consumed
and 17% of animal protein consumption as well (FAO. The state of the worlds fisheries and
aquaculture et al., 2016;4-10)14.

Globally seafood was worth $132 billion in trade during 2016; therefore, it can be said that
seafood has always been, if not, is at its all-time high currently. The ingestion of these
microplastics can be directly transferred to our bodies or indirectly by transferring the food

7
web. It concentrates from the smallest planktonic organisms and larvae from the bottom of
the food chain to the top, working up the way it accumulates from a small portion of
microplastic to a large portion of it that can be considered toxic to the biological functionality
of many organisms (Fisheries of the United States et al., 2015). The small portions of
microplastics are consumed by smaller organisms like producers of the food web and work
their way up to accumulating a large portion of microplastics consumed by consumption of
the hierarchy of the food web. This impacts our health by the end through contamination of
nano and microplastics in an indirect manner. (Mattsson K, Hansson L, Cedervall T. Nano-
plastics in the aquatic environment. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts. 2015)18

Examples of how this can occur are simply depicted below:

8
Conclusion/Recommendations
The ingestion of microplastics is entirely unnatural for the biological demand of human
beings, and due to the properties of microplastics, there can be many toxic health risks.
Throughout all of the research findings on microplastics, we can understand that marine
organisms consuming microplastics can pose an alarming concern because they accumulate
the microplastics. Since we found the toxicity to increase with size, associated chemicals, and
dose, our collective intel is still quite limited when considering the sources of these
microplastics.

For the safety and improvement of modern health and life, identifying the toxicity of
microplastics and the dangerous impacts in the food web through dumping and non-recycling
measures can resort to damage that is no longer changeable. There is very little research to be
found globally among microplastics and bioaccumulation of microplastics; however, it
should be one of the primary concerns as we are daily consuming accumulated microplastics
from all over the world by being involved in damaging the food web. Therefore, the study
and awareness regarding this issue should be a global concern. It is highly recommended to
gather more detailed research on this to achieve the goal of reducing plastic dumpings all
over the world.

9
References
1. Jambeck, J., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., Narayan, R. and
Law, K., 2015. Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science, 347(6223), pp.768-771.
2. Gall, S. and Thompson, R., 2015. The impact of debris on marine life. Marine Pollution
Bulletin, 92(1-2), pp.170-179.
3. Carbery, M., O'Connor, W. and Palanisami, T., 2018. Trophic transfer of microplastics and
mixed contaminants in the marine food web and implications for human health. Environment
International, 115(0160-4120), pp.400-409.
4. Rochman, C., Hoh, E., Kurobe, T. and Teh, S., 2013. Ingested plastic transfers hazardous
chemicals to fish and induces hepatic stress. Scientific Reports, 3(1).
5. Thompson, R., 2004. Lost at Sea: Where Is All the Plastic?. Science, 304(5672), pp.838-838.
6. Cole, M., Lindeque, P., Fileman, E., Halsband, C., Goodhead, R., Moger, J. and Galloway, T.,
2013. Microplastic Ingestion by Zooplankton. Environmental Science & Technology, 47(12),
pp.6646-6655.
7. Mato, Y., Isobe, T., Takada, H., Kanehiro, H., Ohtake, C. and Kaminuma, T., 2001. Plastic
Resin Pellets as a Transport Medium for Toxic Chemicals in the Marine Environment.
Environmental Science & Technology, 35(2), pp.318-324.
8. Cedervall T, Hansson L-A, Lard M, Frohm B, Linse S (2012) Food Chain Transport of
Nanoparticles Affects Behaviour and Fat Metabolism in Fish. PLoS ONE 7(2): e32254.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032254
9. Provencher, J., Bond, A., Avery-Gomm, S., Borrelle, S., Bravo Rebolledo, E., Hammer, S.,
Kühn, S., Lavers, J., Mallory, M., Trevail, A. and van Franeker, J., 2017. Quantifying
ingested debris in marine megafauna: a review and recommendations for standardization.
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