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Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris
Published on: July 28, 2018
Formation of microplastics by polychaetes (Marphysa sanguinea) inhabiting expanded polystyrene marine debris
Mi Jang1, Won Joon Shim1, Gi Myung Han2
1Oil and POPs Research Group, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, 41 Jangmok-1-gil, Geoje 53201, Republic of Korea; Marine Environmental Science, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Fragmentation of large plastic debris into smaller particles results in increasing microplastic concentrations in the marine environment. In plastic debris fragmentation processes, the influence of biological factors remains largely unknown. This study investigated the fragmentation of expanded polystyrene (EPS) debris by polychaetes (Marphysa sanguinea) living on the debris. A large number of EPS particles (131 ± 131 particles/individual, 0.2-3.8 mm in length) were found in the digestive tracts of burrowing polychaetes living on EPS debris. To confirm the formation of microplastics by polychaetes and identify the quantity and morphology of produced microplastics, polychaetes were exposed to EPS blocks in filtered seawater under laboratory conditions. Polychaetes burrowed into the blocks and created numerous EPS microplastic particles, indicating that a single polychaete can produce hundreds of thousands of microplastic particles per year. These results reveal the potential role of marine organisms as microplastic producers in the marine environment.
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