Adverse Effects of Co-Exposure to Cd and Microplastic in Tigriopus japonicus

There is increasing concern about the adverse impact of exposure to microplastic, as an emerging pollutant, on wild organisms, and particularly on organisms co-exposed to microplastic and other environmental contaminants. It has been widely reported that the combination of microplastics and heavy metals showed obvious toxicity to organisms in terms their growth and development. The present study was performed to determine the impact of binary metal mixtures of cadmium (Cd) and polystyrene microplastic (PS-microplastic) on Tigriopus japonicus, a typical marine model organism, using a titration design. Increasing concentrations of PS-microplastic (2 μg/L, 20 μg/L, and 200 μg/L) were titrated against a constant concentration of Cd (15.2 μg/L). The results showed no significant impact of exposure to this dose of Cd or co-exposure to Cd and the lowest dose of PS-microplastic examined (2 μg/L). However, the feeding rate, filtration rate, oxygen consumption rate, and hatching number declined significantly in T. japonicus co-exposed to Cd and higher concentrations of PS-microplastic (20 μg/L and 200 μg/L) (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the development of F1 larvae from nauplius stage (N) to adult stage (A) was markedly delayed when co-exposed to Cd and higher doses of PS-microplastic (20 and 200 μg/L), and the effects persisted to the F2 larval stage. Interestingly, the present titration design did not affect the sex ratio or number of oocysts in either the F1 or F2 generation. These results indicated that the current marine environmental concentrations of Cd and microplastic are safe for wild organisms. Further studies are required to address the knowledge gap regarding toxicological effects at the cellular and molecular levels.