Microplastics Pollution in Aquatic Ecosystems: Challenges and Perspectives, 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Plastic pollution has increased exponentially since the 1950s, but particularly in recent years due to the significant amount of plastic production combined with poor waste management. While the threats of larger plastics, termed “macroplastics”, have been well documented, the smaller particles, known as “microplastics” (1mm–5mm) and “nanoplastics” (<1000 nm), are less understood. Micro(nano)plastics (MNPs) have been found to be ubiquitous pollutants, especially in relation to dense human populations, but are also able to make their way to more isolated locations, from the top of the mountains to the deepest parts of the sea.

Microplastics have also been broadly reported in common food sources such as salt, drinking water, and shellfish, which, together with airborne particle exposure, has led to concerns about their impact on human health. Scientists have documented a range of potential hazards posed by these pollutants, but despite the boom of the MNP research field, there are still significant gaps in the knowledge. This is due, in part, to fluctuating factors, such as the wide variety of analytical techniques for MP extraction and subsequent identification, a lack of consistent analysis tools that represent most ecosystem types (i.e., MNP research in freshwater pales in comparison to marine research), and the wide variety of plastic and other polymeric particle pollution, such as tire particles, paint fragments, and plastic blends. There is a persistent lack of understanding regarding the effects of MNPs at different levels of the biological hierarchy (individual, population, and community) and at crossing trophic levels. As plastic pollution is recognized as part of a wider problem relating to human-driven impacts, there are challenges in linking MNPs to climate change and in understanding how these factors interact.

This Special Issue welcomes studies that address the following:

• Seek to highlight novel challenges in relation to MNP pollution research;
• Research the effects of plastic particles in real-world scenarios;
• Reveal insights that speak to improvements in the field of MNP research;
• Discuss emerging areas of concern relating to MNP pollution;
• Provide insights from observational studies on the vulnerability of populations of marine organisms to hot spots of plastic pollution;
• Perform meta-analyses on the current knowledge of multiple stressors’ effects in marine organisms;
• Highlight what the future of the MNP research field should look

There are a variety of reasons why the field of MNP research contains significant gaps; therefore, this Special Issue seeks to identify and highlight those challenges, while offering insight as to how to overcome them.

The publications in the first edition, which we believe may be of interest to you, can be found here:

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/environments/special_issues/XB1H591Y05

Dr. Charles Rolsky
Dr. Farhan R. Khan
Dr. Ana I. Catarino
Dr. Varun Kelkar
Guest Editors

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• microplastics
• plastic pollution
• freshwater microplastics
• marine microplastics
• plastic debris
• microplastic pollution