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Evaluation of the Toxicity of Microplastics in the Supralittoral of the Barents Sea Using Test Objects of Different Trophic Levels
Summary
Researchers evaluated the toxicity of microplastics collected from the supralittoral zone of the Barents Sea to model organisms, finding that environmental microplastics — which carry sorbed contaminants and biofilms — were more toxic than pristine laboratory microplastics of equivalent polymer type. The results highlight the importance of using environmentally weathered particles rather than pristine plastics in ecotoxicology studies.
The influence of different types of microplastics (MPs) and ash after burning a mixture of macroplastics selected in the supralittoral of the Barents Sea on the development of traditional test objects of the culture of the green microalgae Scenedesmus quadricauda and a culture of cladocerans Daphnia magna in chronic experiments has been studied. In terms of the inhibition of algal growth at a concentration of 3 mg/L of MPs, the PU sample shows the highest toxicity, followed by HDPE (white), HDPE (red), and contact EPS in descending order of toxicity. PP was nontoxic. Ash in the concentration range of 0.01–1000 mg/L does not significantly inhibit the growth of Scenedesmus quadricauda. For Daphnia magna, a more expressed decrease in the mean linear size is noted with the addition of intact EPS, and the stimulation of fertility is significantly higher in the presence of contact EPS. When comparing the effect of intact and contact PU on D. magna, the death of all individuals under the influence of intact PU is found; when adding PU, survival remained at the control level. MP particles and ash affect the trophic activity of daphnia when fed with chlorella, but this effect does not lead to changes in fertility and growth during long-term observation.