Effects of agricultural microplastics in multigenerational tests with insects; mealworms Tenebrio molitor

Abstract

Mulching films, widely used in agriculture, are a large source of microplastics (MPs) to soil. However, there is little knowledge on the long-term effects of agricultural MPs on soil invertebrates. We investigated the effects of MPs from conventional non-biodegradable, fossil-based, low-density polyethylene (PE) and biodegradable fossil-based poly(butylene adipate-coterephthalate) (starch-PBAT blend) mulching films on two generations of the mealworm Tenebrio molitor. No effects of MPs (0.005 %–5 %, w/w dry food) on mealworm development and survival were observed until the end of the experiments (12 weeks for the first generation, nine weeks for the second generation), but effects on their moulting and growth were observed. These were most evident for PE MPs (5 %, w/w), where a decrease in larval growth and moulting was noted in the first generation. On the contrary, PBAT MPs (5 %, w/w) significantly induced the growth of mealworms in the second generation. In addition, there was a non-significant trend towards increased growth at all other PBAT MP exposure concentrations. Increased growth is most likely due to the biodegradation of starch PBAT MPs by mealworms. Overall, these data suggest that PE and PBAT MPs do not induce significant effects on mealworms at environmentally relevant concentrations, but rather only at very high exposure concentrations (5 %).