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The tolerance of a keystone ecosystem engineer to extreme heat stress is hampered by microplastic leachates
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Researchers found that chemical substances leaching from microplastics significantly reduced the ability of blue mussels to survive extreme heat stress. At 35 degrees Celsius, mussels exposed to leachates from beached plastic pellets had the lowest survival rates, likely because weathered plastics release more toxic additives. This study shows how microplastic pollution and climate change can interact to threaten key marine species, which has cascading effects on coastal ecosystems that humans depend on.
Plastic pollution and ongoing climatic changes exert considerable pressure on coastal ecosystems. Unravelling the combined effects of these two threats is essential to management and conservation actions to reduce the overall environmental risks. We assessed the capacity of a coastal ecosystem engineer, the blue mussel Mytilus edulis, to cope with various levels of aerial heat stress (20, 25, 30 and 35°C) after an exposure to substances leached from beached and virgin low-density polyethylene pellets. Our results revealed a significant interaction between temperature and plastic leachates on mussel survival rates. Specifically, microplastic leachates had no effect on mussel survival at 20, 25 and 30°C. In turn, mussel survival rates significantly decreased at 35°C, and this decrease was even more significant following an exposure to leachates from beached pellets; these pellets had a higher concentration of additives compared to the virgin ones, potentially causing a bioenergetic imbalance. Our results stress the importance of adopting integrated approaches combining the effects of multiple environmental threats on key marine species to understand and mitigate their potential synergistic effects on ecosystem dynamics and resilience in the face of the changing environment.
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Microplastic leachates induce species‐specific trait strengthening in intertidal mussels
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This study found that leachates from microplastics — chemicals that dissolved out of the plastic particles — strengthened certain physical traits in intertidal mussels such as shell thickness and byssal thread strength in a species-specific manner. These subtle plastic pollution effects on organism traits could alter ecosystem dynamics even when direct toxicity thresholds are not exceeded.
Microplastic leachates induce chemical disruption of chemotactic and chemokinetic responses of an ecosystem engineer (Mytilus edulis)
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Researchers found that leachates from microplastic particles disrupt the chemotaxis and chemokinesis of blue mussels — their ability to detect and respond to chemical signals in water. These behavioral disruptions could impair the ability of mussels to locate food or avoid predators in contaminated environments. The study highlights that chemical leaching from microplastics, not just the particles themselves, can harm marine organisms.
Combined effects of polystyrene microplastics and thermal stress on the freshwater mussel Dreissena polymorpha
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Freshwater mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) exposed simultaneously to elevated temperature and microplastics showed greater immune suppression and oxidative stress than mussels exposed to either stressor alone, suggesting climate change warming will amplify microplastic toxicity in freshwater ecosystems.
Microplastic leachates disrupt the chemotactic and chemokinetic behaviours of an ecosystem engineer (Mytilus edulis)
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Researchers found that leachates from virgin polypropylene plastic beads disrupt the chemotactic and chemokinetic behaviors of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), impairing this ecosystem engineer's ability to respond to chemical cues and potentially compromising its ecological roles in coastal habitats.
The combined effects of polystyrene microplastics and temperature stress on Mytilus galloprovincialis, Lamarck, 1819
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Researchers investigated the combined effects of polystyrene microplastics and rising water temperatures on Mediterranean mussels. The study found that microplastic exposure amplified temperature-related stress, leading to increased mortality, greater oxidative damage, and more severe tissue changes, suggesting that these two environmental stressors interact to worsen harm to marine organisms.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.