Journal
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 131, Issue -, Pages 365-369Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.04.017
Keywords
Expanded polystyrene; Fragmentation; Polychaete; Marine debris; Microplastic
Funding
- research project titled Environmental Risk Assessment of Microplastics in the Marine Environment from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, South Korea
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Fragmentation of large plastic debris into smaller particles results in increasing microplastic concentrations in the marine environment. In plastic debris fragmentation processes, the influence of biological factors remains largely unknown, This study investigated the fragmentation of expanded polystyrene (EPS) debris by polychaetes (Marphysa sanguinea) living on the debris. A large number of EPS particles (131 131 particles/individual, 0.2-3.8 mm in length) were found in the digestive tracts of burrowing polychaetes living on EPS debris. To confirm the formation of microplastics by polychaetes and identify the quantity and morphology of produced microplastics, polychaetes were exposed to EPS blocks in filtered seawater under laboratory conditions. Polychaetes burrowed into the blocks and created numerous EPS microplastic particles, indicating that a single polychaete can produce hundreds of thousands of microplastic particles per year. These results reveal the potential role of marine organisms as microplastic producers in the marine environment.
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