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Effects of elevated temperature and microplastic exposure on growth and predatory performance of a freshwater fish
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Researchers examined the combined effects of elevated water temperature and microplastic exposure on juvenile round gobies over 37 days. While warming reduced growth rates, microplastics alone did not significantly affect growth or predatory performance, and the two stressors together did not produce additive effects. The study suggests that for this invasive fish species, climate warming poses a more immediate threat than current environmental levels of microplastic pollution.
Abstract Freshwater ecosystems are increasingly exposed to co‐occurring anthropogenic stressors that can alter food web interactions and organismal life histories. We examined the individual and combined effects of climate warming and microplastic pollution on the growth rate and predatory performance of an invasive freshwater fish, the round goby ( Neogobius melanostomus ). In temperature‐controlled chambers, we exposed 160 juvenile gobies to one of six scenarios over 37 d, combining three environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics (63–75 μ m polyethylene microbeads) with two temperature regimes representing contemporary (18°C) and projected mean summer maxima (26°C) in their current range in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River basin. Exposure to elevated temperature reduced the growth and predatory performance of round gobies. Their decline in predatory performance was greatest at the highest microplastic concentration, regardless of temperature. The effects of environmentally relevant microplastic concentrations on the growth and performance of gobies were weaker than the effects of thermal stress. Given that the round goby is an abundant and widely distributed bottom‐dwelling fish in nearshore areas of the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River basin, its responses to these co‐occurring stressors could have cascading effects on food webs.
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Researchers exposed juvenile Amazonian cichlid fish to microplastics, elevated temperatures, and both stressors combined over 30 days. They found that microplastic exposure had a more significant negative impact on predatory performance, digestion, and energy metabolism than elevated temperature alone. The study suggests that microplastic pollution may be a more immediate threat to freshwater fish than moderate temperature increases associated with climate change.
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Freshwater detritivores were exposed to microplastics at environmentally realistic concentrations under two temperature conditions to separate and combine effects, finding that warming and microplastics interacted to significantly increase metabolic rates but had no combined effect on feeding rates. The results highlight the importance of considering multiple stressors when assessing freshwater organism responses to microplastics under climate change.
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Researchers investigated the combined effects of gold nanoparticles, microplastics, and temperature increase on juvenile common goby fish. The study found that these multiple stressors interacted in complex ways, with microplastics influencing how fish took up nanoparticles and temperature modulating toxicity, highlighting the importance of studying environmental contaminants in combination rather than isolation.
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Researchers exposed juvenile marine fish (Pomatoschistus microps) to gold nanoparticles, microplastics, or both simultaneously to understand their individual and combined toxic effects, and how rising water temperatures change those effects. This research helps clarify whether microplastics and other pollutants interact to cause greater harm to marine life under climate change conditions.
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