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The synergistic effect of microplastic and malathion exposure on fiddler crab Minuca ecuadoriensis microplastic bioaccumulation and survival
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Researchers found that combined exposure to microplastics and the pesticide malathion had a synergistic effect on fiddler crabs, increasing mortality to 80% and boosting microplastic bioaccumulation eightfold compared to microplastic exposure alone.
We assessed the combined effects of polyethylene microplastic (MP) and malathion (MLT) on the survival of the fiddler crab Minuca ecuadoriensis, and MP tissue bioaccumulation in four treatments following 120 h exposure: T1) Control; T2) MLT 50 mg L; T3) MP 200 mg L; and T4) MLT (50 mg L) + MP (200 mg L). The highest mortality (80%) was in T4, followed by T2 (28%) and no mortality was in T3. Higher MP bioaccumulation was observed in T4 (572 items g tissue) followed by T3 (70 items g tissue). Our findings indicate that the synergistic effect of MLT and MP increased M. ecuadoriensis bioaccumulative capacity and decreases survival. Thus, as MP contamination in aquatic environments is ubiquitous, our study raises a warning on the synergistic effects of MP with other environmental contaminants and serves as a baseline for further studies.
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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.