Microplastics and seafood: lower trophic organisms at highest risk of contamination

Walkinshaw, Chris, Lindeque, Penelope K., Thompson, Richard, Tolhurst, Trevor ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8578-7580 and Cole, Matthew (2020) Microplastics and seafood: lower trophic organisms at highest risk of contamination. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 190. ISSN 0147-6513

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Abstract

Microplastic debris is a prevalent global pollutant that poses a risk to marine organisms and ecological processes. It is also suspected to pose a risk to marine food security; however, these risks are currently poorly understood. In this review, we seek to understand the current knowledge pertaining to the contamination of commercially important fished and farmed marine organisms with microplastics, with the aim of answering the question “Does microplastic pollution pose a risk to marine food security?“. A semi-systematic review of studies investigating the number of microplastics found in commercially important organisms of different trophic levels suggests that microplastics do not biomagnify, and that organisms at lower trophic levels are more likely to contaminated by microplastic pollution than apex predators. We address the factors that influence microplastic consumption and retention by organisms. This research has implications for food safety and highlights the risks of microplastics to fisheries and aquaculture, and identifies current knowledge gaps within this research field.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: 1st evidence,atlantic,aquaculture,biomagnification,cod gadus-morhua,demersal fish,exposure,food security,marine-environment,mussel,mytilus-edulis l.,north-sea,plastic ingestion,plastic,trophic transfer,sdg 2 - zero hunger,sdg 14 - life below water ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/zero_hunger
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Geosciences
Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Marine Knowledge Exchange Network
Related URLs:
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 18 Dec 2019 03:32
Last Modified: 14 Jun 2023 14:00
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/73392
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.110066

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