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Entry of the Microplastics in Food Chain and Food Web

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Microplastic Pollution

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Abstract

The increased reliance on plastic products in day-to-day life has resulted in massive buildup of plastic waste in every ecosystem. Microplastics include plastic materials with size ranging from 1 micron to 5 mm and being the persistent and globally pervasive pollutants, microplastics pose considerable risk to ecosystems, biota, and food webs. Microplastics have been reported from freshwater, land, sea, and biota and are unequally distributed showing the highest concentrations in bio-productive seas, coastal waters, and subtropical gyres. The characteristics of microplastics, i.e., detection capability, motility, and relative concentrations, feeding strategy of organisms, and geographical overlap affect the encounter rate of microplastics and biota. Trophic transfer, inhalation, ingestion, and entanglement are the main routes by which microplastics enter the food webs. Several invertebrates, bivalves, crabs, and small fish have been reported to ingest microplastics, which are then transferred across the food chain and food web. Microplastics are also considered the carriers of pathogens and toxic chemicals. Numerous research studies have reported that microplastics negatively affect living organisms, i.e., reproductive reduction, feeding disruption, disturbed metabolism, and intestinal damage. Microplastics are also known to translocate, bioaccumulate, and release toxic chemicals into the body. This chapter focuses on the sources, entry, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification of microplastics in food chains and food webs in various ecosystems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Gujrat, Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan

    Somia Liaqat, Mubashar Hussain & Jaweria Riaz

Authors
  1. Somia Liaqat
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  2. Mubashar Hussain
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  3. Jaweria Riaz
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany University of Ladakh, Kargil Campus, Khumbathang Ladakh UT, India and Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China

    Mohd. Shahnawaz

  2. Applied Microbiology, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Edo State University Uzairue, Iyamho, Nigeria

    Charles Oluwaseun Adetunji

  3. Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China

    Mudasir Ahmad Dar

  4. Biofuel’s Institute, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China

    Daochen Zhu

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© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Liaqat, S., Hussain, M., Riaz, J. (2024). Entry of the Microplastics in Food Chain and Food Web. In: Shahnawaz, M., Adetunji, C.O., Dar, M.A., Zhu, D. (eds) Microplastic Pollution. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8357-5_17

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