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Synthetic and natural microfibers induce gut damage in the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana
Summary
Researchers exposed brine shrimp to polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and natural lyocell microfibers and assessed mortality and gut damage. The study found that all three fiber types caused gut damage regardless of polymer origin, with polyethylene terephthalate fibers inducing the highest mortality, suggesting that the physical shape of microfibers may be as important as their chemical composition in causing harm to aquatic organisms.
The increasing amount of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems is a significant environmental issue, with adverse effects on marine organisms including invertebrates and vertebrates. This study examined the effects of three types of microfibers on the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana as the test species. The brine shrimps were exposed to two commonly found synthetic microfibers (polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate) and one natural fiber (lyocell). The results suggest that the polyethylene terephthalate microfibers induced high mortality in A. franciscana, while the lyocell caused the least detrimental effects. Gut damage of microfiber-exposed A. franciscana was observed using the dye leakage in the gut layer, and the results show that gut damage occurred in all exposure groups of synthetic and natural microfibers. Overall, our findings indicate that gut damage induced by all three microfibers eventually led to adverse effects and mortality of A. franciscana, highlighting the harmful effects of microfibers, regardless of polymer type.