Microplastics – a Macro Problem - Microplastic Load and Mitochondrial DNA Variation in Aquatic Mammals in the Baltic Sea Region
(2023) BIOM02 20222Degree Projects in Biology
- Abstract
- Plastic pollution is one of the most severe forms of pollution and the high abundance of microplastics (MP) in aquatic ecosystems is already confirmed. Due to their small size and buoyancy, they are highly bioavailable and have been shown to have a wide range of negative impacts. As a result of their high trophic status and long lifespan, aquatic mammals are susceptible to bioaccumulation and biomagnification of microplastics. In this study, 13 harbor porpoise intestines, 10 harbor porpoise lungs and 11 Eurasian otter intestines were investigated for the presence of microplastics. A total of 1409 particles were isolated and analysed with Optical-photothermal infrared spectroscopy and 8% of these were of synthetic origin. The most common... (More)
- Plastic pollution is one of the most severe forms of pollution and the high abundance of microplastics (MP) in aquatic ecosystems is already confirmed. Due to their small size and buoyancy, they are highly bioavailable and have been shown to have a wide range of negative impacts. As a result of their high trophic status and long lifespan, aquatic mammals are susceptible to bioaccumulation and biomagnification of microplastics. In this study, 13 harbor porpoise intestines, 10 harbor porpoise lungs and 11 Eurasian otter intestines were investigated for the presence of microplastics. A total of 1409 particles were isolated and analysed with Optical-photothermal infrared spectroscopy and 8% of these were of synthetic origin. The most common polymer was polystyrene (PS). A significantly higher amount of microplastics were found in male harbor porpoise intestines than in female harbor porpoise intestines. Moreover, porpoise intestines contained significantly more microplastics compared to porpoise lungs. Otter intestines contained the highest amount of microplastics, with a mean ± SD of 0.18 ± 0.16 MPs g-1, followed by porpoise intestines with 0.11 ± 0.09 MPs g-1 and porpoise lungs with 0.04 ± 0.06 MPs g-1. The analysis of mitochondrial DNA revealed the presence of two different haplotypes of harbor porpoises in the Baltic Sea. Although more research is needed, these results suggest the ubiquitous presence of microplastics in top predators, not only in intestines but also in their lungs. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Microplastics – a Macro Problem
Plastic pollution is one of the most severe forms of pollution and a high abundance of microplastics (MPs) in aquatic ecosystems is already confirmed. Microplastics are highly bioavailable and have a wide range of negative impacts. Due to their high trophic status and long lifespan, aquatic mammals are susceptible to bioaccumulation of microplastics.
Previous studies have mostly investigated the abundance of microplastics in aquatic mammals using intestinal content or fecal analysis and there is still no standardized method for the analysis of microplastics in aquatic mammals. Therefore, this study aimed to present a validated, improved and adjusted method for the analysis of microplastics in... (More) - Microplastics – a Macro Problem
Plastic pollution is one of the most severe forms of pollution and a high abundance of microplastics (MPs) in aquatic ecosystems is already confirmed. Microplastics are highly bioavailable and have a wide range of negative impacts. Due to their high trophic status and long lifespan, aquatic mammals are susceptible to bioaccumulation of microplastics.
Previous studies have mostly investigated the abundance of microplastics in aquatic mammals using intestinal content or fecal analysis and there is still no standardized method for the analysis of microplastics in aquatic mammals. Therefore, this study aimed to present a validated, improved and adjusted method for the analysis of microplastics in aquatic mammals. At the same time, it is the first study to investigate the occurrence of microplastics in harbor porpoise lungs. 13 harbor porpoise intestines, 11 otter intestines, and 10 porpoise lungs were analysed for the presence of microplastics.
Stranded, bycaught or road-killed individuals were collected by the Swedish Veterinary Agency and the Swedish Museum of Natural History. 15 g of the respective tissue (either intestinal content or lung tissue) was digested in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to get rid of any natural particles and subsequently filtered through 4 different sieves (0.5 mm, 0.1 mm, 0.04 mm and 0.02 mm). Synthetic and inorganic particles that were not digested through the H2O2 were then isolated and further analysed using Photothermal infrared spectroscopy (O-PTIR) to characterize their polymer type.
A total of 1409 particles were isolated, from which 91 were identified as microplastics. Otter intestines contained on average 0.18 ± 0.16 MP g-1. Porpoise intestines contained 0.11 ± 0.09 MPs g-1 and porpoise lungs 0.04 ± 0.06 MPs g-1. Significant differences were observed between male and female harbor porpoise intestines, with a higher microplastic load in males (0.18 ± 0.04 MPs g-1) compared to females (0.06 ± 0.18 MPs g-1). Porpoise lungs showed a significantly lower microplastic abundance (0.04 ± 0.06 MPs g-1) than porpoise intestines (0.11 ± 0.09 MPs g-1). Polystyrene (PS) has been the most abundant polymer throughout all investigated samples.
To be able to successfully protect the aquatic environment and implement meaningful conservation strategies, it is important to learn more about the current situation and the amount and types of microplastics present in the aquatic environment as well as the exposure risk of harbor porpoises and otters. This study presents an improved and validated method for the analysis of microplastics in aquatic mammals and the first evidence for microplastic particles in harbor porpoise lungs and suggests the ubiquitous presence of microplastics in aquatic mammals.
Master’s Degree Project in Aquatic Ecology and Ecotoxicology (30 ECTs)
Department of Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC), Lund University
Supervisor: Maria Hansson
Co-Supervisor: Josefine Larsson (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9114032
- author
- Bollina, Sarah
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BIOM02 20222
- year
- 2023
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9114032
- date added to LUP
- 2023-05-05 13:02:08
- date last changed
- 2023-05-05 13:02:08
@misc{9114032,
abstract = {{Plastic pollution is one of the most severe forms of pollution and the high abundance of microplastics (MP) in aquatic ecosystems is already confirmed. Due to their small size and buoyancy, they are highly bioavailable and have been shown to have a wide range of negative impacts. As a result of their high trophic status and long lifespan, aquatic mammals are susceptible to bioaccumulation and biomagnification of microplastics. In this study, 13 harbor porpoise intestines, 10 harbor porpoise lungs and 11 Eurasian otter intestines were investigated for the presence of microplastics. A total of 1409 particles were isolated and analysed with Optical-photothermal infrared spectroscopy and 8% of these were of synthetic origin. The most common polymer was polystyrene (PS). A significantly higher amount of microplastics were found in male harbor porpoise intestines than in female harbor porpoise intestines. Moreover, porpoise intestines contained significantly more microplastics compared to porpoise lungs. Otter intestines contained the highest amount of microplastics, with a mean ± SD of 0.18 ± 0.16 MPs g-1, followed by porpoise intestines with 0.11 ± 0.09 MPs g-1 and porpoise lungs with 0.04 ± 0.06 MPs g-1. The analysis of mitochondrial DNA revealed the presence of two different haplotypes of harbor porpoises in the Baltic Sea. Although more research is needed, these results suggest the ubiquitous presence of microplastics in top predators, not only in intestines but also in their lungs.}},
author = {{Bollina, Sarah}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Microplastics – a Macro Problem - Microplastic Load and Mitochondrial DNA Variation in Aquatic Mammals in the Baltic Sea Region}},
year = {{2023}},
}