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Ingestion of polyethylene microspheres occur only in presence of prey in the jellyfish Aurelia aurita
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Researchers found that jellyfish only ingest polyethylene microspheres when prey is also present, suggesting that accidental microplastic ingestion by jellyfish depends on context rather than being constant. This finding has implications for understanding microplastic uptake pathways in marine food webs.
Microplastic ingestion was studied in A. aurita, a bloom-forming, circumglobal medusa. Here, we determined whether factors such as the concentration of polyethylene microspheres (75–90 μm) or the absence/presence of prey affect the ingestion, duration of microspheres in the gastrovascular cavity (time of presence), and retention time. The presence of polyethylene microspheres' was determined by exposing medusae during 480 min to three different treatments (5000, 10,000, 20,000 particles L−1), and was checked every 10 min to ascertain whether they had incorporated any. Preliminary results show that microsphere ingestion occurred only in the presence of prey (⁓294 Artemia nauplii L−1). The time of presence of microbeads in A. aurita increased (103, 177, and 227 min), with increasing microplastic concentration, and the microbeads were egested within 150 min. This study initiates the understanding of the potential implications that arise of the encounter between jellyfish and microplastic agglomerates, and with perspectives for future research.
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Researchers documented for the first time that jellyfish ingest macroplastic debris, revealing a previously overlooked pathway by which plastic pollution travels up the marine food chain. This finding raises fresh concern about how widely plastic is spreading through ocean ecosystems via invertebrates, which make up the vast majority of marine life.
Microplastics ingestion in the ephyra stage of Aurelia sp. triggers acute and behavioral responses
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Young jellyfish (Aurelia sp. in the ephyra stage) were shown to ingest microplastics and exhibit acute physiological and behavioral responses, including altered swimming patterns and feeding behavior. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate that microplastic ingestion affects jellyfish at an early life stage, with potential implications for their population dynamics.
Ecotoxicological effects of micro and nanoplastics in gelatinous zooplankton
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Researchers exposed ephyra-stage Aurelia sp. jellyfish to polyethylene microplastics (1-4 µm) and polystyrene nanoplastics (100 nm) at concentrations of 0.01-10 mg/L, using 3D holotomographic microscopy to confirm particle ingestion in the gelatinous body and mouth. Only microplastic ingestion affected survival, while both microplastics and nanoplastics impaired pulsation frequency, though full recovery occurred within 24-72 hours after transfer to clean seawater.
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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.