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Particle uptake by filter-feeding macrofoulers from the Mar Grande of Taranto (Mediterranean Sea, Italy): potential as microplastic pollution bioremediators
Summary
This study assessed microplastic uptake by filter-feeding fouling organisms including mussels and ascidians from the Gulf of Taranto in the Mediterranean, finding that these organisms ingest microplastics from surrounding seawater and may hold promise as bioremediators capable of reducing local microplastic loads.
Microplastics (MPs) are a serious threat to the marine environment affecting ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. There is a vast literature about the uptake of MPs at different trophic levels, mainly focused on ecotoxicological effects in commercially relevant species. Little is still known about possible strategies to face MP pollution. Bioremediation is recently gaining attention in this framework. The clearance rate and particle retention of Sabella spallanzanii, Mytilus galloprovincialis, Phallusia mammillata, Paraleucilla magna at three MP concentrations (C1: 1.4 · 101 p/L; C2: 1.4 · 102 p/L; C3: 1.4 · 103 p/L) were investigated to test their potential as MP remover. Digestion protocol removed 98 % of tissues simplifying the MP quantification. P. magna clearance rate decreased with increasing concentration while P. mammillata showed no significant variations. S. spallanzanii and M. galloprovincialis instead exhibited the highest values of clearance rate. Yet, unlike mussels, S. spallanzanii can inhibit particle return to the surrounding water storing them in the tube, resulting to be the best candidate for bioremediation purposes.