Factsheet 7.2: Microplastics in the aquatic food web - Impact and transfer analysis based on the example of roundworms (nematodes)

"To assess the ecologic danger posed by microplastics, one must also consider indirect effects in the food web", say Sebastian Höss (Ecossa) and Marie-Theres Rauchschwalbe (Bielefeld University). The researchers from the joint project MikroPlaTaS looked at these effects using nematodes as an example.

Roundworms (nematodes) live in the sediment layer of water bodies and serve as a food source for larger aquatic organisms. Nematodes are capable of absorbing microplastics within a matter of minutes, resulting in these small plastic particles entering the food chain. Insights into the subsequent effects are useful for considering the transfer of microplastics in the food web, as nematodes are a significant food source for organisms in the bottom zone of the water body.

The project partners of the joint project MikroPlaTaS worked in the field, in the laboratory and in semi-outdoor systems (micro- and mesocosms). In this way, impact thresholds and mechanisms were modelled with the help of individual laboratory species of meio- and macrofauna, which could then be tested under realistic conditions for complex organism communities.

The results of the investigations are presented in the second factsheet of the research project. This is available here as a PDF download.