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Combined effects of food and temperature on the chronic toxicity of polyethylene terephthalate microplastic fragments in Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum
Summary
Researchers studied the combined effects of food availability and temperature on the toxicity of PET microplastic fragments in Manila clams over 21 days. They found that the presence of food actually increased mortality in clams exposed to microplastics, likely because the clams ingested more plastic particles while feeding. The findings suggest that real-world conditions where food and microplastics coexist may pose greater risks to shellfish than laboratory studies with plastic exposure alone.
Microplastics (MPs) have raised concern because of their detrimental toxicity to a diverse aquatic organisms, who are further threatened by global warming. The Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum is one of the most consumed bivalve worldwide. In this study, the influence of food (absence and presence of algae) and temperatures (19 and 23 °C) on the chronic toxicity of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) MP fragments (42.81 ± 0.99 μm) in R. philippinarum were investigated for 21 days. The mortality of R. philippinarum exposed to MPs was significantly increased in the presence of food at the control temperature (19 °C) compared to that in the absence of food. Furthermore, food availability induced the opposite burrowing activity of R. philippinarum exposed to MPs at 19 °C. The lethal and sublethal toxicity to R. philippinarum exposed to MPs were significantly exacerbated under the elevated temperature (23 °C). The higher toxicity was observed in the mortality of R. philippinarum exposed to MPs under the elevated temperature with food (23 °C-Presence) than the control temperature without food (19 °C-Absence). Notably, behavioral responses were influenced by a combination of MP exposure, food availability, and temperature changes. This study emphasizes the needs to consider food availability and temperature changes while investigating the chronic toxicity of MPs on bivalves.