Microplastic pollution research methodologies, abundance, characteristics and risk assessments for aquatic biota in China

Abstract

The widespread presence of microplastics in global aquatic ecosystems has aroused growing concern about the potential impacts of microplastics on aquatic biota. In marine and freshwater environments, microplastics are distributed pervasively within water bodies from the upper water column to the bottom layer, making them available to a large variety of aquatic organisms that inhabit different locations. The ingestion of microplastic particles may cause harm to aquatic organisms. Although China’s aquatic environments have been seriously polluted by microplastics, the impacts of microplastics on aquatic biota remain to be elucidated. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge about microplastic pollution in aquatic biota in China; specifically, the concentration and characteristics of microplastic particles in aquatic organisms from both seawater and freshwater environments are discussed. The results showed that various aquatic organisms in China have been found to consume microplastics. The average number of micro-plastic pieces discovered in biota ranged from 0.07 particles to 164 particles per individual in different organisms. The most frequently observed colors of microplastics detected in biota were blue and transparent, and the detected microplastics mainly consisted of fibers. In addition, the impacts of microplastics on aquatic organisms, including physical impacts, chemical impacts, the trophic transfer of microplastics and the potential risks to humans, were discussed. Finally, knowledge gaps were identified in order to guide future studies.