20.500.12556/RUL-159516 Effects of agricultural microplastics in multigenerational tests with insects; mealworms Tenebrio molitor 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 %). insects two generations polyethylene biodegradable microplastics development moulting žuželke dve generaciji polietilen biorazgradljiva mikroplastika razvoj true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2024-07-11 11:00:47 2024-07-11 11:00:49 2024-08-28 13:01:10 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2024 0 0 8 str. art. 174490 Vol. 946 2024 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 504 1879-1026 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174490 201438467 1-s2.0-S0048969724046382-main.pdf 1-s2.0-S0048969724046382-main.pdf 1 2DEA7EAE7608F2718EBCE17E86FFF628 16f4e31587e7bd941d5bddc4a295ee39643bfb8efb7e668b31fe5217486aafc9 62f909da-3f64-11ef-8f74-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=187551 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969724046382 0 5a997915-3f64-11ef-8f74-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=187550 Biotehniška fakulteta 0 0 0