An assessment workflow to recover microplastics from complex biological matrices

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This published study developed a criteria-guided workflow to assess the effectiveness of microplastic separation methods on complex marine biological matrices. More specifically, the use of four microplastic separation methods commonly applied in the literature (nitric acid, HNO3, and potassium hydroxide, KOH, digestions, and sodium chloride, NaCl, and potassium iodide, KI, density flotations) were evaluated on four abundant marine taxa (hard coral, sponge, sea squirt, sea cucumber) using five environmentally relevant microplastics (fragments of polyethylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polyvinylchloride, as well as rayon fibres). Methods were deemed efficient when (1) rates of sample clarification were appropriate, (2) effects on physical and chemical characteristics of microplastics were negligible, and (3) recovery rates of spiked microplastics into sample matrices were high. Specimens of Acropora millepora (hard coral), Rhopaloeides odorabile (sponge), Polycarpa aurata (sea squirt), and Holothuria atra (sea cucumber) were opportunistically collected from five reefs in the central Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Rib Reef, Taylor Reef, Feather Reef, John Brewer Reef, Farquharson Reef) in 2017 and 2019. Irregular microplastic fragments and fibres were produced in the laboratory at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), in Townsville (Queensland, Australia). This work was primarly conducted through controlled laboratory experiments at AIMS. Microplastic sizes were statistically analysed using general linear model in R. All other parametres assessed were not statistically analysed.

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Statement: Data quality was assured using the following permits, publications, and SOPs: 1. Study species were collected following the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority permit G12/35236.1 2. Sample processing was conducted following the SOPs: SOP_SF_T070_2, SOP_SF_T072_1, and SOP_SF_T0565_1 (AIMS internal documents) 3. Microplastics tested were physically and chemically characterized following the proposed charts in the publication, as well as descriptors previously used in the literature (e.g., Norén, 2007, Hidalgo-Ruz et al., 2012, Kroon et al. 2018a,b, Hartmann et al., 2019, Rochman et al., 2019, and Miller et al., 2021), and the SOPs SF-T075_1, SF-T076_1, and BAF-I078_5 (AIMS internal documents). References: Hartmann, N.B., Huffer, T., Thompson, R.C., Hassellov, M., Verschoor, A., Daugaard, A.E., Rist, S., Karlsson, T., Brennholt, N., Cole, M., Herrling, M.P., Hess, M.C., Ivleva, N.P., Lusher, A.L., Wagner, M., 2019. Are We Speaking the Same Language? Recommendations for a Definition and Categorization Framework for Plastic Debris. Environ Sci Technol 53, 1039-1047. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.8b05297 Hidalgo-Ruz, V., Gutow, L., Thompson, R. C., and Thiel, M. (2012). Microplastics in the marine environment: a review of the methods used for identification and quantification. Environ. Sci. Technol. 46, 3060–3075. doi: 10.1021/es2031505 Kroon, F., Motti, C., Talbot, S., Sobral, P., and Puotinen, M. (2018). A workflow for improving estimates of microplastic contamination in marine waters: a case study from North-Western Australia. Environ. Pollut. 238, 26–38. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.03.010 Kroon, F. J., Motti, C. E., Jensen, L. H., and Berry, K. L. E. (2018). Classification of marine microdebris: a review and case study on fish from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Sci. Rep. 8:16422. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-34590-6 Miller, M.E., Motti, C.A., Menendez, P., Kroon, F.J., 2021. Efficacy of Microplastic Separation Techniques on Seawater Samples: Testing Accuracy Using High-Density Polyethylene. Biol Bull 240, 52-66. doi: 10.1086/71075552 Norén, F. (2007). Small plastic particles in Coastal Swedish waters. KIMO Sweden 11, 1–11. Rochman, C.M., Brookson, C., Bikker, J., Djuric, N., Earn, A., Bucci, K., Athey, S., Huntington, A., McIlwraith, H., Munno, K., Frond, H.D., Kolomijeca, A., Erdle, L., Grbic, J., Bayoumi, M., Borrelle, S.B., Wu, T., Santoro, S., Werbowski, L.M., Zhu, X., Giles, R.K., Hamilton, B.M., Thaysen, C., Kaura, A., Klasios, N., Ead, L., Kim, J., Sherlock, C., Ho, A., Hunga, C., 2019. Rethinking Microplastics as a Diverse Contaminant Suite. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 38, 703-711. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.4371

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Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)

Credit
TWQ Hub Ph.D. research funding, National Environmental Science Program Tropical Water Quality Hub (TWQ Hub), Australia.

Credit
AIMS@JCU Ph.D. scholarship, Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Australia.