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Tire rubber chemicals reduce juvenile oyster (Crassostrea gigas) filtration and respiration under experimental conditions
Summary
Chemicals that leach out of tire rubber, likely washing into waterways from road runoff, can seriously stress out young oysters, cutting their ability to filter food and breathe by over half, even at low concentrations. This throws off the oysters' energy balance, meaning less energy for growth and reproduction, which matters because oysters filter our water and support seafood supplies, so widespread tire pollution could ripple through the food chain and coastal ecosystems we rely on.
Tires can release a large number of chemical compounds that are potentially hazardous for aquatic organisms. An ecophysiological system was used to do high-frequency monitoring of individual clearance, respiration rates, and absorption efficiency of juvenile oysters (8 months old) gradually exposed to four concentrations of tire leachates (equivalent masses: 0, 1, 10, and 100 μg tire mL-1). Leachates significantly reduced clearance (52 %) and respiration (16 %) rates from 1 μg mL-1, while no effect was observed on the absorption efficiency. These results suggest that tire leachates affect oyster gills, which are the organ of respiration and food retention as well as the first barrier against contaminants. Calculations of scope for growth suggested a disruption of the energy balance with a significant reduction of 57 %. Because energy balance directs whole-organism functions (e.g., growth, reproductive outputs), the present study calls for an investigation of the long-term consequences of chemicals released by tires.