Fate and effects of microplastic particles in a periphyton-grazer system.

Autor: Merbt SN; Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland; Ceab.CSIC Centre D'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Access a La Cala St, Francesc 14, 17300, Blanes, Spain. Electronic address: Stephanie.Merbt@ceab.csic.es., Kroll A; Swiss Centre for Applied Ecotoxicology, Ueberlandstrasse 133, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland., Sgier L; Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland., Tlili A; Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland., Schirmer K; Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland; EPF Lausanne, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland; ETH Zürich, Department of Environmental Systems Science, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland. Electronic address: Kristin.Schirmer@eawag.ch., Behra R; Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland; Aegetswil 4, 8492, Wila, Switzerland.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) [Environ Pollut] 2024 Apr 15; Vol. 347, pp. 123798. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Mar 14.
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123798
Abstrakt: In the aquatic environment, microplastic particles (MP) can accumulate in microbial communities that cover submerged substrata, i.e. in periphyton. Despite periphyton being the essential food source for grazers in the benthic zones, MP transfer from periphyton to benthic biota and its ecotoxicological consequences are unknown. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of 1) MP on embryonal development of freshwater gastropod Physa acuta embryos, 2) MP on adult Physa acuta individuals through dietary exposure and 3) on the MP surface properties. Embryonal development tests were carried out with spherical polyethylene MP in the size of 1-4 μm (MP). Over a period of 28 days, embryonal development and hatching rate were calculated. In the feeding experiments, periphyton was grown in the presence and absence of MP and was then offered to the adult Physa acuta for 42-152 h. The snails readily ingested and subsequently egested MP, together with the periphyton as shown by MP quantification in periphyton, snail soft body tissue and feces. No selective feeding behavior upon MP exposure was detected. The ingestion of MP had no effect on mortality, feeding and defecation rate. Yet, the reproductive output of snails, measured as the number of egg clutches and numbers of eggs per clutch, decreased after the ingestion of MPs, while the hatching success of snail embryos those parents were exposed remained unaffected. In contrast, hatching rate of snail embryos was significantly reduced upon direct MP exposure. MP optical properties were changed upon the incorporation into the periphyton and the passage through the digestive tract. Our results indicate that MP incorporated in periphyton are bioavailable to aquatic grazers, facilitating the introduction of MP into the food chain and having direct adverse effects on the grazers' reproductive fitness.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Stephanie Merbt reports financial support was provided by Velux Foundation. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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