Trophic predator-prey relationships promote transport of microplastics compared with the single Hypoaspis aculeifer and Folsomia candida

Trophic predator-prey relationships promote transport of microplastics compared with the single Hypoaspis aculeifer and Folsomia candida

INTERNATIONAL MARINE LITTER DATABASE

Trophic predator-prey relationships promote transport of microplastics compared with the single Hypoaspis aculeifer and Folsomia candida

Dong Zhu, Qing-Fang Bi, Qian Xiang, Qing-Lin Chen, Peter Christie, Xin
Ke, Long-Hua Wu, Yong-Guan Zhu

Environmental Pollution, Volume 235, 2018, Pages 150-154, ISSN 0269-7491,

Abstract:

Although the roles of earthworms and soil collembolans in the
transport of microplastics have been studied previously, the effects of
the soil biota at different trophic levels and interspecific
relationships remain poorly understood. Here, we examine three soil
microarthropod species to explore their effects on the transport of
microplastics. The selected Folsomia candida and Hypoaspis aculeifer are
extensively used model organisms, and Damaeus exspinosus is a common and
abundant indigenous species in China. A model food chain
(prey-collembolan and predator-mite) was structured to test the role of
the predator-prey relationship in the transport of microplastics.
Commercial Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) particles (Diameter: 80–250 μm) were
selected as the test microplastics, because large amounts of PVC have
persisted and accumulated in the environment. Synchronized soil
microarthropods were held in plates for seven days to determine the
movement of microplastics. The 5000 microplastic particles were
carefully placed in the center of each plate prior to the introduction
of the animals. Our results clearly show that all three microarthropod
species moved and dispersed the microplastics in the plates. The 0.54%,
1.8% and 4.6% of the added microplastic particles were moved by
collembolan, predatory mite and oribatid mite, respectively. Soil
microarthropods (<0.2 cm) transported microplastic particles up to 9 cm.
The avoidance behavior was observed in the collembolans in respect of
the microplastics. The predatory -prey relationship did promote the
transport of microplastics in the plates, increasing transport by 40%
compared with the effects of adding single species (P < .05). Soil
microarthropods commonly occur in surface soils (0–5 cm) and, due to
their small body size, they can enter soil pores. Our results therefore
suggest that the movement of microplastics by soil microarthropods may
influence the exposure of other soil biota to microplastics and change
the physical properties of soils.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=11MhqDdGHv77BCAndGEIP7_sCPT97tBIH

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.12.058.(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749117333663)