Microplastics have been detected in global aquatic ecosystems, so it is vital to understand the bioaccumulation and biomagnification of microplastics for ecological risk assessment. However, variability between studies, including sampling, pretreatment processes, and polymer identification methods have made it difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Alternatively, the compilation and statistical analysis of available experimental and investigation data provides insight into the fates of microplastics in an aquatic ecosystem. To reduce bias, we performed a systematic literature retrieval and compiled these reports on microplastic abundance in the natural aquatic environment. Our results indicate that microplastics are more abundant in sediments than in water, mussels, and fish. There is a significant correlation between mussels and sediments, but not between water and mussels or between water/sediment and fish. Bioaccumulation of microplastics appears to occur through water, but the route of biomagnification is unclear. More sound evidence is required to fully understand the biomagnification of microplastics in aquatic environments.
Keywords: Bioaccumulation; Biomagnification; Emerging contaminant; Field-based evidence; Trophic transfer.
Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.