Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science

A common crustacean can break microplastics in just four days

It's much faster than previously thought and highly concerning

Fermin Koop by Fermin Koop
July 30, 2020
in Environment, Environmental Issues, News, Science

A small crustacean from Ireland can fragment microplastics into tiny particles in just a matter of days, much faster than previously estimated. This highlights the potential of freshwater and marine species to rapidly fragment microplastics, but it won’t rid us of plastic anytime soon.

Credit Wikipedia Commons

Previous research had shown the breakdown of plastics in marine ecosystems mainly happens through slow processes, such as being broken apart by waves or decaying through long-term exposure to sunlight. But this isn’t necessarily the case, as seen in the new study.

Researchers at the University College Cork in Ireland found that a “very common” crustacean, called Gammarus duebeni, which can be found on Irish streams, can break down microplastics (smaller than 5 mm) in less than 100 hours and turn them into nanoplastics — pieces that measure less than one micrometer.

“When I started studying this three years ago, it sounded so crazy that such small animals could be fragmenting plastics but our research shows that plastic fragments comprised nearly 66% of all observed microplastic particles accumulated in the guts of these animals,” lead author Alicia Mateos-Cárdenas told The Guardian.

Mateos-Cárdenas and her team used spherical microbeads of polyethylene for the experiment, a common polymer that can be found in plastic bottles. Each of the microbead was tagged with a fluorescent dye, making the ingestion and fragmentation could be trackable through microscope.

The microbeads were broken down by the crustaceans into nanoplastics that measured less than or one thousandth of a millimeter, the findings showed. The researchers found more fragments when exposing the crustacean to a high concentration of microplastics for four days.

The study showed that the proportion of smaller plastic fragments was at its highest when the amphipods had been purged in pure water in the presence of their food, a plant material, indicating that biological fragmentation could be closely related with the feeding process.

“We saw that the amphipods ingest these plastic particles, grinding them with their mandibles as they eat them and pass them on to the digestive system but we don’t yet understand how these animals break down the plastic. We need to investigate the actual mechanism of this biological fragmentation,” said Mateos-Cárdenas.

In addition to helping researchers understand how plastic breaks down in marine ecosystems, the findings can also be highly relevant for plastic modeling studies. Biological fragmentation is not currently considered in the fate of plastics in the environment, the researchers argued, calling for further research into the capacity of creatures to produce plastic fragments through digestive processes.

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Was this helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
Related posts:
  1. Contact lenses break down into microplastics — so don’t flush them down!
  2. Microplastics could break down whole ecosystems — they’re making prey unresponsive to predators
  3. Four things Jules Verne got right and four he didn’t
  4. Portugal’s electricity demand was supplied by renewable energy for four days straight!
  5. Retreating glacier causes big Canadian river to vanish in four days
Tags: microplasticplastic

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW