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Animals
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Environmentally Exposed Animals as Indicators or Sentinel Species for (Micro)plastics
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Environmentally Exposed Animals as Indicators or Sentinel Species for (Micro)plastics

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecology and Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 16535

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Joana Prata

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
TOXRUN—Toxicology Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS), CESPU, 3810-193 Gandra, Portugal
Interests: one health; environmental health; veterinary; contaminants; toxicology; microplastics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Patricia Dias-Pereira

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pathology and Molecular Immunology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto (ICBAS-UP), 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
Interests: veterinary; pathology; oncology; animal models; necropsy; tumor biology; molecular oncology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plastics and microplastics are widespread and persistent environmental contaminants. The risk of accidental animal exposure increases as the concentration of these synthetic materials grows in the environment. The fate and effects of (micro)plastics in the body are still not completely understood. Nonetheless, domestic or wild animals can be used as indicators or sentinel species as they may internalize or be more sensitive to variations in environmental concentrations. Understanding (micro)plastics in environmentally exposed animals may provide insights into the spatial distribution of these contaminants and their health outcomes.

This Special Issue invites novel contributions as research papers or critical reviews to address the aspects of (micro)plastics related to the environmental exposure of animals, including but not limited to the following topics: i) improving methods for animal sampling; ii) determining and characterizing (micro)plastics in animal tissues or excretions; iii) relating environmental exposure to concentration in tissues or excretions; iv) studying the trophic transfer under natural conditions; v) determining the indirect impact or incorporation on animal-built structures (e.g., nests, cocoons). Studies on terrestrial animals are of particular interest.

Dr. Joana Prata
Dr. Patrícia Dias-Pereira
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental contaminants
  • plastics
  • microplastics
  • microplastics in biota
  • animals
  • environmental indicators
  • sentinels

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 929 KiB  
Article
Effects Caused by the Ingestion of Microplastics: First Evidence in the Lambari Rosa (Astyanax altiparanae)
by Ana Laura Athayde Lourenço, Glaucia Peregrina Olivatto, Adijailton José de Souza and Valdemar Luiz Tornisielo
Animals 2023, 13(21), 3363; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13213363 - 30 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1543
Abstract
Microplastics are a class of contaminants that pose a threat to aquatic biota, as they are easily found in aquatic ecosystems and can be ingested by a wide variety of organisms, such as fish. The lambari rosa (Astyanax altiparanae) is a [...] Read more.
Microplastics are a class of contaminants that pose a threat to aquatic biota, as they are easily found in aquatic ecosystems and can be ingested by a wide variety of organisms, such as fish. The lambari rosa (Astyanax altiparanae) is a microphage fish, which feeds on microscopic beings and particles, making it potentially susceptible to ingesting MPs discarded in the environment. In addition, this fish is of great economic and food importance, as it is used for human consumption. This study aimed to evaluate the accumulation and possible toxicological effects caused to lambari rosa (n = 450) by the ingestion of polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) MPs, since the MPs of these polymers in the form of granules, fragments, and fibers are the most commonly reported in the aquatic environment. The parameters investigated here were the quantitative analysis of ingested MPs using microscopic and staining techniques, as well as the mortality rate, malformations/injuries, and impaired weight gain. At the end of the experiment, it was concluded that MPs from both polymers accumulated in the gastrointestinal tract of the lambari rosa, and that dietary exposure, especially to the PET polymer, was responsible for increasing the mortality rate in this species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Exposed Animals as Indicators or Sentinel Species for (Micro)plastics)
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19 pages, 809 KiB  
Article
Microplastics in Cetaceans Stranded on the Portuguese Coast
by Sara Sá, Andreia Torres-Pereira, Marisa Ferreira, Sílvia S. Monteiro, Raquel Fradoca, Marina Sequeira, José Vingada and Catarina Eira
Animals 2023, 13(20), 3263; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13203263 - 19 Oct 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1659
Abstract
This study characterises microplastics in small cetaceans on the coast of Portugal and assesses the relationship between several biological variables and the amount of detected microplastics. The intestines of 38 stranded dead cetaceans were processed in the laboratory, with digestion methods adapted to [...] Read more.
This study characterises microplastics in small cetaceans on the coast of Portugal and assesses the relationship between several biological variables and the amount of detected microplastics. The intestines of 38 stranded dead cetaceans were processed in the laboratory, with digestion methods adapted to the amount of organic matter in each sample. The influence of several biological and health variables (e.g., species, sex, body condition) on the amount of microplastics was tested in all analysed species and particularly in common dolphins, due to the larger number of available samples. Most of the analysed individuals had microplastics in the intestine (92.11%), with harbour porpoises revealing a significantly higher median number of microplastics than common dolphins, probably due to their different diets, use of habitat and feeding strategies. None of the other tested variables significantly influenced the number of microplastics. Moreover, the microplastics found should not be enough to cause physical or chemical sublethal effects, although the correlation between microplastic ingestion and plastic additive bioaccumulation in cetacean tissues requires further investigation. Future monitoring in biota should rely on improved and standardised protocols for microplastic analyses in complex samples to allow for accurate analyses of larger samples and spatio-temporal comparisons. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Exposed Animals as Indicators or Sentinel Species for (Micro)plastics)
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16 pages, 6783 KiB  
Article
Sublethal Effects of Polystyrene Nanoplastics on the Embryonic Development of Artemia salina (Linnaeus, 1758)
by Martina Contino, Greta Ferruggia, Stefania Indelicato, Roberta Pecoraro, Elena Maria Scalisi, Antonio Salvaggio and Maria Violetta Brundo
Animals 2023, 13(19), 3152; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13193152 - 09 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1182
Abstract
Currents, wave motion, solar radiation, and abrasion are mechanisms responsible for the degradation of large plastic artifacts and contribute to the dispersion of micro and nanoplastics into aquatic ecosystems, which are, currently, the most dangerous threats due to their invisibility and persistence. The [...] Read more.
Currents, wave motion, solar radiation, and abrasion are mechanisms responsible for the degradation of large plastic artifacts and contribute to the dispersion of micro and nanoplastics into aquatic ecosystems, which are, currently, the most dangerous threats due to their invisibility and persistence. The present work evaluated the possible lethal and sublethal effects of amino-modified polystyrene nanoplastics (nPS-NH2) with diameters of 50 nm and 100 nm on Artemia salina (A. salina), an organism at the base of the trophic chain of the aquatic system, using a widely used model for the analysis of embryotoxicity from environmental pollutants. For this purpose, after evaluating the biodistribution of nanoplastics in the body of the tested animals, several endpoints such as anomalies, apoptosis, and ROS production were assessed. In addition, particular attention was dedicated to evaluating the correlation between toxicity and the particle size tested. The results reported that, despite the absence of a lethal impact, several sublethal effects involving gut and body size malformations, as well as the enhancement of apoptosis and oxidative stress in relation to an increase in tested concentration and a decrease in nanoparticle size. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Exposed Animals as Indicators or Sentinel Species for (Micro)plastics)
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21 pages, 2411 KiB  
Article
Abundance and Distribution of Microplastics in Invertebrate and Fish Species and Sediment Samples along the German Wadden Sea Coastline
by Laura Polt, Larissa Motyl and Elke Kerstin Fischer
Animals 2023, 13(10), 1698; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13101698 - 20 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1722
Abstract
Monitoring strategies are becoming increasingly important as microplastic contamination increases. To find potentially suitable organisms and sites for biota monitoring in the German Wadden Sea, we collected invertebrates (n = 1585), fish (n = 310), and sediment cores (n = [...] Read more.
Monitoring strategies are becoming increasingly important as microplastic contamination increases. To find potentially suitable organisms and sites for biota monitoring in the German Wadden Sea, we collected invertebrates (n = 1585), fish (n = 310), and sediment cores (n = 12) at 10 sites along the coast of Lower Saxony between 2018 and 2020. For sample processing of biota, the soft tissue was digested and the sediment samples additionally underwent a subsequent density separation step. Microplastic particles were identified using Nile red and fluorescence microscopy, followed by polymer composition analysis of a subset of particles via µRaman spectroscopy. All investigated species, sediment cores, and sites contained microplastics, predominantly in the morphology class of fragments. Microplastics were found in 92% of Arenicola marina, 94% of Littorina littorea, 85% of Mytilus edulis, and 79% of Platichthys flesus, ranging from 0 to 248.1 items/g. Sediment core samples contained MPs ranging from 0 to 8128 part/kg dry weight of sediment. In total, eight polymers were identified, predominantly consisting of polyethylene, polyvinylchloride, and polyethylene terephthalate. Considering the sampling, processing, and results, the species Mytilus edulis and Platichthys flesus are suitable species for future microplastic monitoring in biota. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Exposed Animals as Indicators or Sentinel Species for (Micro)plastics)
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Review

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20 pages, 655 KiB  
Review
Connecting the Dots: Livestock Animals as Missing Links in the Chain of Microplastic Contamination and Human Health
by Francesca Corte Pause, Susy Urli, Martina Crociati, Giuseppe Stradaioli and Anja Baufeld
Animals 2024, 14(2), 350; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14020350 - 22 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1253
Abstract
Plastic pollution is a global diffuse threat, especially considering its fragmentation into microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs). Since the contamination of the aquatic environment is already well studied, most studies have now focused on the soil. Moreover, the number of studies on the [...] Read more.
Plastic pollution is a global diffuse threat, especially considering its fragmentation into microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs). Since the contamination of the aquatic environment is already well studied, most studies have now focused on the soil. Moreover, the number of studies on the exposure routes and toxic effects of MNPs in humans is continuously increasing. Although MNPs can cause inflammation, cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and immune toxicity in livestock animals, which can accumulate ingested/inhaled plastic particles and transfer them to humans through the food chain, research on this topic is still lacking. In considering farm animals as the missing link between soil/plant contamination and human health effects, this paper aims to describe their importance as carriers and vectors of MNP contamination. As research on this topic is in its early stages, there is no standard method to quantify the amount and the characteristics of MNPs in different matrices. Therefore, the creation of a common database where researchers can report data on MNP characteristics and quantification methods could be helpful for both method standardization and the future training of an AI tool for predicting the most abundant/dangerous polymer(s), thus supporting policy decisions to reduce plastic pollution and perfectly fitting with One Health principles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Exposed Animals as Indicators or Sentinel Species for (Micro)plastics)
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12 pages, 591 KiB  
Review
Microplastics in Terrestrial Domestic Animals and Human Health: Implications for Food Security and Food Safety and Their Role as Sentinels
by Joana C. Prata and Patrícia Dias-Pereira
Animals 2023, 13(4), 661; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13040661 - 14 Feb 2023
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 8234
Abstract
Terrestrial domestic animals are exposed to microplastics, therefore, contaminating the food chain, in the case of livestock, or acting as sentinels for human exposure, in the case of companion animals. The aim of this review was to address the importance of terrestrial domestic [...] Read more.
Terrestrial domestic animals are exposed to microplastics, therefore, contaminating the food chain, in the case of livestock, or acting as sentinels for human exposure, in the case of companion animals. The aim of this review was to address the importance of terrestrial domestic animals on human exposure to microplastics. Animal products may already show some microplastics contamination, which may occur during their lifetime, possibly also compromising productivity, and during processing, originating from equipment and packaging. Moreover, release of microplastics in animal feces (or manure) leads to the contamination of agricultural fields, with possible impacts and internalization in plants. Therefore, microplastics pose a threat to food security, compromising food productivity, and food safety, by being a foreign material found in animal products. Conversely, in urban environments, companion animals (cats and dogs) may be relevant sentinels for human exposure. While oral exposure may vary in pets compared to humans, due to indiscriminate ingestion and chewing or licking behaviors, airborne exposure is likely to be a good indicator for human exposure. Therefore, future studies should address the importance of terrestrial domestic animals for human exposure of microplastics, both in the food chain and as sentinels for environmental exposure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Exposed Animals as Indicators or Sentinel Species for (Micro)plastics)
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