Fiddler Crabs May Speed Microplastics Into the Seafood Chain

A new field study in Colombia’s mangrove forests found that fiddler crabs ingest microplastics and mechanically break part of them down into even smaller fragments. Researchers reported concentrations in crabs far above surrounding sediment, with many particles in digestive organs and gills.

Why it matters: faster fragmentation may sound positive, but it can increase the formation and spread of nanoplastics — smaller particles that are harder to monitor and can move more easily through marine food webs, including seafood consumed by people.

This result highlights how living marine organisms can actively alter plastic fate in ecosystems, not just passively accumulate contamination.

Source: Food & Wine summary of research published in Global Change Biology