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Microplastic leachates impair behavioural vigilance and predator avoidance in a temperate intertidal gastropod
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Researchers found that leachates from microplastics impaired chemical vigilance and predator avoidance behavior in an intertidal gastropod, demonstrating that microplastic chemical contamination can compromise anti-predator responses in marine invertebrates even without direct particle ingestion.
Microplastics are a ubiquitous source of contaminations in marine ecosystems, and have major implications for marine life. Much effort has been devoted to assessing the various effects of microplastics on marine life. No evidence exists, however, on the effects of microplastic leachates on chemically mediated predator-prey interactions and the ability of prey to detect and avoid its predator. This study shows that microplastic leachates have direct biological effects by disturbing the behavioural response of the intertidal gastropod Littorina littorea to the presence of Carcinus maenas chemical cues, hence increasing their vulnerability to predation. Leachates from virgin and beached pellets respectively impaired and inhibited L. littorea vigilance and antipredator behaviours. These results suggest that the biological effects from microplastic leachates may have major implications for marine ecosystems on taxa that rely on chemosensory cues to escape predation.
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Supplementary material from "Microplastic leachates impair behavioural vigilance and predator avoidance in a temperate intertidal gastropod"
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This supplementary dataset supports a study showing that leachates from microplastics impair behavioral vigilance and predator avoidance in a temperate intertidal gastropod, demonstrating that chemical leaching from microplastics disrupts chemically-mediated predator-prey interactions in marine invertebrates.
Supplementary Material from Microplastic leachates impair behavioural vigilance and predator avoidance in a temperate intertidal gastropod.
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This supplementary data file contains raw behavioral data from an experiment examining how microplastic leachates affect predator avoidance behavior in a temperate intertidal gastropod snail. The data underpin findings that chemical compounds leaching from plastic particles impair the vigilance and escape responses of marine mollusks.
Supplementary Material from Microplastic leachates impair behavioural vigilance and predator avoidance in a temperate intertidal gastropod
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This dataset contains raw behavioral data from experiments testing how microplastic leachates affect vigilance behavior and predator avoidance in a temperate intertidal gastropod. Four behavioral variables were measured across different treatment groups to assess behavioral impairment from plastic-derived chemicals.
Impact of microplastic leachates on the anti-predator behaviour of the intertidal limpet: Cellana nigrolineata
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This study examined how chemical leachates from microplastics affect the anti-predator behavior of the intertidal limpet Cellana nigrolineata, a key grazing species in rocky shore communities. Behavioral disruption in foundation species by microplastic-derived chemicals has cascading implications for intertidal ecosystem structure and prey-predator dynamics.
Size-dependent response of the mussel collective behaviour to plastic leachates and predator cues
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