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Phthalate levels in common sea anemone Actinia equina and Anemonia viridis: A proxy of short-term microplastic interaction?
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Researchers measured phthalate concentrations in two sea anemone species (Actinia equina and Anemonia viridis) as a proxy for short-term microplastic contamination in marine environments, where direct microplastic measurement can be challenging. The study evaluated whether anemones could serve as reliable bioindicators of local plastic pollution.
Phthalates are widely employed plasticizers blended to plastic polymers that, during plastic aging and weathering are prone to leach in the surrounding environment. Thus, phthalates were proposed to indirectly evaluate MPs contamination in marine environments, with still uncertain and scarce data, particularly for wildlife. This study investigates simultaneously microplastics (MPs) and phthalates (PAEs) occurrence in wild Actinia equina and Anemonia viridis, two common and edible sea anemone species. Both species had a 100 % frequency of MPs occurrence, with similar average concentrations. PAEs were detected in 70 % of samples, with concentrations up to 150 ng/g in A. equina and 144.3 ng/g for A. viridis. MPs and PAEs present in sea anemone tissues appear to reflect seawater plastic contamination conditions in the study area. Given the rapid biodegradation of PAEs, occurrence and concentrations of both these additives and their metabolites could be useful tracers of short-term plastic debris-biota interactions.
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This study proposes sea anemones as a new bioindicator species for monitoring microplastic pollution in marine environments, finding that anemones accumulate smaller microplastics (under 0.5 mm) and a wider diversity of polymer types than the surrounding water or sediment at the same locations. Six different polymer types were identified in anemones versus fewer in sediment and water, suggesting these sessile filter feeders efficiently concentrate microplastics from their immediate environment. Using sea anemones offers a relatively fast and reliable approach to characterizing microplastic contamination in coastal marine ecosystems.
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Researchers exposed the model sea anemone Exaiptasia diaphana to dimethyl phthalate (a plasticizer that leaches from marine plastics) and found it impaired tissue integrity within three weeks without disrupting the anemone's symbiotic algae — suggesting plasticizers can damage cnidarians through non-symbiosis mechanisms.
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