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Single and combined effects of microplastics and mercury on juveniles of the European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax): Changes in behavioural responses and reduction of swimming velocity and resistance time
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Juvenile European seabass exposed individually and in combination to polyethylene microplastics and mercury showed reduced swimming speed and endurance, with combined exposure producing more pronounced impairment than either pollutant alone. The findings suggest that the co-occurrence of microplastics and heavy metals in marine environments may pose synergistic threats to fish swimming performance and survival.
Microplastics and mercury are environmental pollutants of great concern. The main goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of these pollutants, both individually and in binary mixtures, on the swimming performance of juvenile European seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax. Microplastics alone, mercury alone and all the mixtures caused significant reduction of the swimming velocity and resistance time of fish. Moreover, changes in behavioural responses including lethargic and erratic swimming behaviour were observed. These results highlight that fish behavioural responses can be used as sensitive endpoint to establish the effects of contamination by microplastics and also emphasizes the need to assess the combined effects of microplastics and other environmental contaminants, with special attention to the effects on behavioural responses in fish and other aquatic species.
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