Partial consumption of medical face masks by a common beetle species
Data files
Nov 14, 2024 version files 4.29 KB
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insect-plastic-dryad-july4.csv
2.32 KB
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README.md
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Abstract
The widespread distribution of microplastics (MPs) in the environment has motivated research on the ecological significance and fate of these pervasive particles. Recent studies have demonstrated that MPs may not always have negative effects and in contrast, several species of Tenebrionidae beetles utilized plastic as a food source in controlled laboratory experiments. However, most studies of plastic-eating insects have not been ecologically realistic, and thus it is unclear whether results from these experiments apply more broadly. Here we quantified the ability of mealworms (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) to consume MPs derived from polypropylene (PP) and polylactic acid (PLA) face masks; these are two of the most commonly used conventional and plant-based plastics. To simulate foraging in nature, we mixed MPs with wheat bran to create an environment where beetles were exposed to multiple food types. Mealworms consumed ~50% of the MPs, egested a small fraction, and consumption did not affect survival. This study adds to our limited knowledge of the ability of insects to consume MPs. Understory or ground-dwelling insects may hold the key to sustainable plastic disposal strategies, but we caution that research in this field needs to proceed concomitantly with reductions in plastic manufacturing.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3tx95x6qk
We created microplastics from two types of medical face masks (polypropylene and polylactic acid). We mixed plastic particles with wheat bran and fed the mixture to Tenebrio molitor. Beetle larvae consumed and partially biodegraded both plastic types. Plastic consumption did not affect beetle development or survival.
Description of the data and file structure
Data were collected and compiled using Excel. Column headings are described below:
Beaker – number assigned to the beaker
Mealworms – whether mealworms were added to the beaker or not
Treatment – type of microplastic added to the food mixture
Cumulative Pupae – number of pupae produced throughout the experiment.
Live worms last day – number of live worms at the end of the experiment.
Est.start.plastic.particles – number of plastic particles in the food at the beginning of the experiment.
Avg.total.starting.plastic.particles – average number of plastic particles across all beakers per treatment; calculated using the following formula (also see Methods: Data Collected): (mixture weight (mg) on day 1) x 0.295 x (average microplastics of polypropylene or polylactic acid per mg, Table 1)
Percent.mix.weight.remaining.day1.day.23 – fraction of food mixture remaining at the end of the experiment (also accounts for weight loss due to evaporation); calculated using the following formula (also see Methods: Data Analysis): food weight (mg) on day 23 / food weight (mg) on day 1
Est.particles.consumed.per.mealworm – number of plastic particles consumed per mealworm.
Percent.particles.consumed – the number of plastic particles consumed divided by the starting number of plastic particles
Particle.egestion.rate.per.mg.frass – number of plastic particles egested per mg of frass
NA = no data collected
This is a laboratory experiment. Data were collected in a spreadsheet and analyzed in R.