Microplastic burden in marine benthic invertebrates depends on species traits and feeding ecology within biogeographical provinces

• Published in: Nature communications 2023-12, Vol.14 (1), p.8023-8023, Article 8023
• Main Authors: Porter, Adam, Godbold, Jasmin A., Lewis, Ceri N., Savage, Georgie, Solan, Martin, Galloway, Tamara S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/158/2445; 704/172/4081; 704/829/826; Animals; Benthic fauna; Biogeography; Body burden; Contaminants; Contamination; Ecology; Feeding; Feeding behavior; Geographical locations; Humanities and Social Sciences; Invertebrates; Marine animals; Marine invertebrates; Marine organisms; Marine sediments; Microplastics; multidisciplinary; Omnivores; Plastic debris; Plastic pollution; Predators; Risk assessment; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sediments; Species
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43788-w

The microplastic body burden of marine animals is often assumed to reflect levels of environmental contamination, yet variations in feeding ecology and regional trait expression could also affect a species’ risk of contaminant uptake. Here, we explore the global inventory of individual microplastic body burden for invertebrate species inhabiting marine sediments across 16 biogeographic provinces. We show that individual microplastic body burden in benthic invertebrates cannot be fully explained by absolute levels of microplastic contamination in the environment, because interspecific differences in behaviour and feeding ecology strongly determine microplastic uptake. Our analyses also indicate a degree of species-specific particle selectivity; likely associated with feeding biology. Highest microplastic burden occurs in the Yellow and Mediterranean Seas and, contrary to expectation, amongst omnivores, predators, and deposit feeders rather than suspension feeding species. Our findings highlight the inadequacy of microplastic uptake risk assessments based on inventories of environmental contamination alone, and the need to understand how species behaviour and trait expression covary with microplastic contamination. Microplastic uptake by animals is often assumed to reflect the level of contamination in the environment. Here, the authors compile a global inventory of individual microplastic body burden in benthic marine invertebrates and find that feeding mode and geographic location are more important predictors than environmental microplastic loading.