Tire and Road Wear Particle-Containing Sediments with High Organic Content Impact Behavior and Survival of Chironomid Larvae (Chironomus riparius)

Autor: Tatjana Tull, Stefanie Krais, Katharina Peschke, Steffen Weyrauch, Rita Triebskorn, Heinz-R. Köhler
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Environments, Vol 10, Iss 2, p 23 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2076-3298
DOI: 10.3390/environments10020023
Popis: Tire and road wear particles (TRWP), which contribute significantly to microplastic emission, are receiving more attention, but details about particle composition, translocation from source to sink, and particularly the possible effects on ecosystems are largely unknown. We examined the influence of native TRWP-containing sediments from two settling ponds on the mortality and behavior of the aquatic larvae of Chironomus riparius. Both sediments, whether pure or mixed with different proportions of quartz sand and suspended in water, led to increased mortalities with increasing concentrations and were shown to be oxygen consuming. Artificial aeration significantly reduced larval mortality in both sediments. Chironomid larvae show high tolerance to anoxic and polluted environments due to physiological and behavioral adaptations, such as the construction of vertical sediment tubes (chimneys), in which they create oxic compartments. A significant correlation was found between the proportion of contaminated sediment and the number of chimneys: the more contaminated sediment, the fewer chimneys were constructed. The number of chimneys per surviving larva decreased with an increased proportion of contaminated sediment in parallel to increased larval mortality. We hypothesize that contents of these sediments negatively impact the larvae’s ability to survive at low oxygen concentrations due to impairments of essential behavioral and physiological processes.
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