Microplastics have been identified as a widespread, persistent environmental pollutant. The investigation of microplastics in marine ecosystems has been prevalent in the literature; however, much less consideration has been given to this form of pollution in freshwater ecosystems. Relatively few studies have considered the uptake of microplastics in freshwater mussels. This study investigated the presence of microplastics in fluted-shell mussels (Lasmigona costata) collected from various sites in the Grand River watershed, Southern Ontario’s largest watershed and home to one million people. The soft tissue of adult mussels underwent enzyme digestion, followed by filtration to isolate undigested particles. Particles were removed and analyzed using Raman spectroscopy to determine their composition. Ten different polymers were identified in the sampled mussels, with polypropylene-co-polyethylene being the most prevalent. Microplastic particles were detected in 71% of mussels with the greatest number of particles observed in a single mussel being seven. No significant difference in microplastic particles per mussel was observed among the different sites sampled. A significant positive relationship between particles per mussel and size of upstream catchment was observed, but a relationship between particles per mussel and percentage of urban land use was not observed.

中文翻译：

---

加拿大安大略省大河流域淡水贻贝（Lasmigona costata）中的微塑料研究

微塑料已被确认为一种广泛存在的持久性环境污染物。在海洋生态系统中对微塑料的研究在文献中已经很普遍。然而，对淡水生态系统中这种污染的考虑却很少。相对较少的研究考虑了淡水贻贝中微塑料的吸收。这项研究调查了凹槽状贻贝（Lasmigona costata）中微塑料的存在从安大略省南部最大的流域大河流域的各个地点收集的，人口达一百万。对成年贻贝的软组织进行酶消化，然后过滤以分离未消化的颗粒。除去颗粒并使用拉曼光谱分析以测定其组成。在采样的贻贝中鉴定出十种不同的聚合物，其中聚丙烯-共-聚乙烯最为普遍。在71％的贻贝中检测到微塑性颗粒，其中单个贻贝中观察到的最大颗粒数为7。在取样的不同部位之间，未发现每个贻贝的微粒塑料颗粒有显着差异。观察到每个贻贝的颗粒与上游流域的大小之间存在显着的正相关关系，