TY  - JOUR
A1  - Maass, Stefanie
A1  - Daphi, Daniel
A1  - Lehmann, Anika
A1  - Rillig, Matthias C.
T1  - Transport of microplastics by two collembolan species
JF  - Environmental pollution
N2  - Plastics, despite their great benefits, have become a ubiquitous environmental pollutant, with micro-plastic particles having come into focus most recently. Microplastic effects have been intensely studied in aquatic, especially marine systems; however, there is lack of studies focusing on effects on soil and its biota. A basic question is if and how surface-deposited microplastic particles are transported into the soil. We here wished to test if soil microarthropods, using Collembola, can transport these particles over distances of centimeters within days in a highly controlled experimental set-up. We conducted a fully factorial experiment with two collembolan species of differing body size, Folsomia candida and Proisotoma minuta, in combination with urea-formaldehyde particles of two different particle sizes. We observed significant differences between the species concerning the distance the particles were transported. F. candida was able to transport larger particles further and faster than P. minuta. Using video, we observed F candida interacting with urea-formaldehyde particles and polyethylene terephthalate fibers, showing translocation of both material types. Our data clearly show that microplastic particles can be moved and distributed by soil microarthropods. Although we did not observe feeding, it is possible that microarthropods contribute to the accumulation of microplastics in the soil food web. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
KW  - Microplastics
KW  - Soil
KW  - Collembolans
KW  - Transport
KW  - Pollution
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.03.009
SN  - 0269-7491
SN  - 1873-6424
VL  - 225
SP  - 456
EP  - 459
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Borck, Rainald
T1  - Public transport and urban pollution
JF  - Regional science and urban economics
N2  - This paper studies the effect of public transport policies on urban pollution. It uses a quantitative equilibrium model with residential choice and mode choice. Pollution comes from commuting and residential energy use. The model parameters are calibrated to replicate key variables for American metropolitan areas. In the counterfactual, I study how free public transport coupled with increasing transit speed affects the equilibrium. In the baseline simulation, total pollution falls by 0.4%, as decreasing emissions from transport are partly offset by rising residential emissions. A second counterfactual compares a city with and without public transit. This large investment decreases pollution by 1.7%. When jobs are decentralized, emissions fall by 0.5% in the first and by 3% in the second counterfactual.
KW  - Public transport
KW  - Pollution
KW  - Discrete choice
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2019.06.005
SN  - 0166-0462
SN  - 1879-2308
VL  - 77
SP  - 356
EP  - 366
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Cole, Matthew
A1  - Liddle, Corin
A1  - Consolandi, Giulia
A1  - Drago, Claudia
A1  - Hird, Cameron
A1  - Lindeque, Penelope Kate
A1  - Galloway, Tamara S.
T1  - Microplastics, microfibres and nanoplastics cause variable sub-lethal responses in mussels (Mytilus spp.)
JF  - Marine pollution bulletin : the international journal for marine environmental scientists, engineers, administrators, politicians and lawyers
N2  - We compare the toxicity of microplastics, microfibres and nanoplastics on mussels. Mussels (Mytilus spp.) were exposed to 500 ng mL(-1) of 20 mu m polystyrene microplastics, 10 x 30 mu m polyamide microfibres or 50 nm polystyrene nanoplastics for 24 h or 7 days. Biomarkers of immune response, oxidative stress response, lysosomal destabilisation and genotoxic damage were measured in haemolymph, digestive gland and gills. Microplastics and microfibres were observed in the digestive glands, with significantly higher plastic concentrations after 7-days exposure (ANOVA, P < 0.05). Nanoplastics had a significant effect on hyalinocytegranulocyte ratios (ANOVA, P < 0.05), indicative of a heightened immune response. SOD activity was significantly increased followed 24 h exposure to plastics (two-way ANOVA, P < 0.05), but returned to normal levels after 7-days exposure. No evidence of lysosomal destabilisation or genotoxic damage was observed from any form of plastic. The study highlights how particle size is a key factor in plastic particulate toxicity.
KW  - Plastic
KW  - Litter
KW  - Debris
KW  - Pollution
KW  - Shellfish
KW  - Bivalve
KW  - Fibres
KW  - Exposure
KW  - Ecotoxicology
Y1  - 2020
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111552
SN  - 0025-326X
SN  - 1879-3363
VL  - 160
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  -