Microplastics (MPs) have even been detected in remote environments, including high-latitude regions, where human activities are restricted or strongly limited. We investigated the surface water of the bays of the Barents Sea and the freshwater lakes that are located close to and several kilometers from a year-round resident field station in the remote tundra region of the Kola Peninsula. The microplastics’ presence in aquatic environments in this region has not been indicated yet. Microplastics were detected in all samples collected from the Barents Sea (<4800 items·m⁻³) and the lakes (<3900 items·m⁻³). Fibers made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET)—the most common thermoplastic polymer of the polyester family—and semi-synthetic cellulosic rayon were the most dominant. This indicated that the source of fiber contamination may come from protective clothes, ropes, ship equipment, and fishing nets. Small microplastics can spread through current and atmospheric transport. The Norwegian Current is likely responsible for the lack of correlations found between MP contamination and the distance from the field station between the studied bays of the Barents Sea. On the contrary, a significant correlation with human presence was observed in the concentration of microfibers in the water of the tundra lakes. The number of MP fibers decreased with an increase in the distance from the field station. This is the first study, to the best of our knowledge, that reports such a correlation in a remote region. We also discuss implications for animals. Our results show that even the most isolated ecosystems are not free from microplastic pollution.

Among the factors modifying the structure of associations and activity of earthworms, the influence of intra- and interspecific interactions has been studied insufficiently. In field...

We compared different net sampling methods for microplastic quantitative collection by sampling different water volumes with nets of different mesh sizes. Sampling covered freshwater lake and reservoir with a significant degree of eutrophication located in Central Poland. The fibres were the main type of plastic collected from sampling sites and constituted 83% of all microplastic particles. Fibres of 700–1900 μm dominated in the samples. The size of mesh affected the amount of fibres collected. Small fibres of 10–200 μm in length were collected using only a fine net of 20 μm mesh size. The total amount of fibres depended on sample volumes; concentrations of microplastics were higher for smaller water volumes. It is likely that clogging with phytoplankton and suspended particles reduced the filtration capacity of the finest nets when large volumes were sampled, which led to an underestimation of microplastic. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide evidence that the amount of small microfibres depends on mesh size and that the total microplastic abundance in freshwaters in Poland depends on the sample volume. We suggest sampling rather larger than smaller water volumes to assess the level of microplastic contamination more accurately, but clogging, which reduces the filtration capacity of finest nets, should be taken into account when eutrophic freshwater environments are studied.

This contribution presents the first record of ornamental shrimp epibiont, Scutariella japonica (Platyhelminthes: Temnocephalida) in European waters. The species lives on freshwater Atyidae shrimp from temperate, subtropical and tropical zones of South-East Asia. In total, 120 individuals of Neocaridina davidi shrimp were caught in thermally polluted canal of Oder river, near the city of Gryfino, in the northwest part of Poland. In that group, 5.83% were infected with scutariellids. Among shrimp, females were mostly infected (85.71%). Since ornamental shrimp released into thermally polluted water bodies have been also noticed in surrounding waters of natural temperature regime in Europe, S. japonica may spread further following potential expansion of the Neocaridina shrimp in Oder river. It is possible that other crustaceans, both native and alien which are present at this location, may also become vectors of this epibiont.

The global atmospheric transport of microplastics (MPs) plays a crucial role in the contamination of remote, especially higher-elevation, environments. Precipitation is considered the main source of MP pollution. Meanwhile, plastic waste generated from, for example, tourism activities can be a local source of MP pollution. In this study, we specify which of the mentioned sources of MP, global or local, have a higher impact on the pollution level in the high-elevation oligotrophic lakes of Tatra National Park in Poland. Due to its unique natural value, it is listed by UNESCO as an international biosphere reserve and meets the criteria for Natura 2000 areas. We comprehensively analyzed the morphometric and anthropogenic features of 11 lakes in terms of the contamination level, color, shape, and polymer type of the MPs found in the surface waters. MP fibers were found to be present in all studied lakes, with contamination ranging from 25 to 179 items/m³. Polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and natural or semi-natural cellulose fibers—black or red in color with a length of 0.2–1.0 mm—predominated, which corresponds with other studies conducted on remote mountain ecosystems. We did not find any correlation of the number of MPs with local anthropogenic pressure characteristics. In turn, the significant correlation with lake area, coastline length, lake volume, and catchment area indicated airborne sources, including global transport of MPs to the lakes with reduced water outflow.