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Plastic pellets make Excirolana armata more aggressive: Intraspecific interactions and isopod mortality differences between populations
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Exposure to plastic pellet leachates made the intertidal isopod Excirolana armata significantly more aggressive in intraspecific interactions, suggesting that chemical contamination from microplastics can alter animal behavior and potentially affect population dynamics.
Plastic pellets represent a significant component of microplastic (< 5 mm) pollution. Impacts caused by plastic pellets involve physical harm and toxicity related to ingestion and non-ingestion (such as the release of chemicals in leachates). The latter is the main route of exposure for invertebrate macrobenthic populations. This study aimed to compare the toxicity of plastic pellets in distinct marine macrobenthic populations, considering the influence of sediment characteristics (organic matter and grain size) and quality (contamination by hydrophobic chemicals) on ecotoxicological effects, as well as the influence of color on the toxicity of beach-stranded plastic pellets. We performed three experiments on plastic pellet exposure using Excirolana armata from beaches with high and low pellet density. When exposed to pellets, populations that inhabit beaches without pellets demonstrate higher mortality than those inhabiting beaches with high pellet densities. The mortality of E. armata to pellets was higher when the exposure occurred in sediment with high organic matter (OM), suggesting that chemicals were transferred from pellets to OM. Yellowish beach-stranded pellets induced higher mortality of E. armata than the white tones did. We also observed lethargic (near-dead) and dead individuals being preyed upon by healthy individuals, a cannibalistic behavior that raises an ecological concern regarding the negative effects of this exposure on intraspecific interactions in marine macrobenthic populations.
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Plastic pellets make Excirolana armata more aggressive: Intraspecific interactions and mortality in field and laboratory ecotoxicological assays
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Researchers found that exposure to beach-stranded plastic pellets increased mortality and aggressive intraspecific behavior in the marine isopod Excirolana armata, with effects observed even at low pellet densities in both field and laboratory settings.
Impact of microplastic leachates on the anti-predator behaviour of the intertidal limpet: Cellana nigrolineata
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This study examined how chemical leachates from microplastics affect the anti-predator behavior of the intertidal limpet Cellana nigrolineata, a key grazing species in rocky shore communities. Behavioral disruption in foundation species by microplastic-derived chemicals has cascading implications for intertidal ecosystem structure and prey-predator dynamics.
Microplastic leachates impair behavioural vigilance and predator avoidance in a temperate intertidal gastropod
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Researchers found that leachates from microplastics impaired chemical vigilance and predator avoidance behavior in an intertidal gastropod, demonstrating that microplastic chemical contamination can compromise anti-predator responses in marine invertebrates even without direct particle ingestion.
Animal contests and microplastics: evidence of disrupted behaviour in hermit crabsPagurus bernhardus
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Researchers found that microplastic exposure disrupted shell-fighting contests in hermit crabs, impairing defenders' ability to assess opponents and reducing attackers' rapping strength, suggesting broader behavioral impacts on marine animals than previously recognized.
Supplementary material from "Microplastic leachates impair behavioural vigilance and predator avoidance in a temperate intertidal gastropod"
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This supplementary dataset supports a study showing that leachates from microplastics impair behavioral vigilance and predator avoidance in a temperate intertidal gastropod, demonstrating that chemical leaching from microplastics disrupts chemically-mediated predator-prey interactions in marine invertebrates.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.