Polystyrene Microparticles and the Functional Traits of Invertebrates: A Case Study on Freshwater Shrimp Neocardina heteropoda

• Published in: Fishes Vol. 7; no. 6; p. 323
• Main Authors: Kučera, Jozef, Púček Belišová, Noemi, Mackuľak, Tomáš, Ryba, Jozef, Douda, Karel, Bondarev, Dmitrij, Slavík, Ondrej, Tamáš, Michal, Escobar Calderon, Juan Felipe, Horký, Pavel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.12.2022
• Subjects: Activity patterns; Aquatic ecosystems; Behavior; behavioral syndromes; Drinking water; ecotoxicity; Ecotoxicology; Food webs; Freshwater; Freshwater crustaceans; Freshwater invertebrates; freshwater microplastics; Inland water environment; Invertebrates; Marine ecosystems; Marine environment; Metabolic rate; metabolic rates; Metabolism; Microparticles; Microplastic pollution; Microplastics; Physiological responses; Plastic debris; Plastic pollution; Plastics; Polystyrene; Respiration; Risk assessment; Risk taking; Shellfish; Symptoms; Denmark; United States > US; Czech Republic
• ISSN: 2410-3888; 2410-3888
• DOI: 10.3390/fishes7060323

The excessive worldwide production of plastic materials results in omnipresent microplastic pollution. Scientific studies dealing with the impacts of microplastics on aquatic ecosystems focus mainly on the marine environment, documenting the effect on the functional traits of various organisms. Polystyrene, one of the most commonly used plastics, has become a widely used model in this respect. In our study, freshwater shrimps (Neocardina heteropoda) were exposed to virgin polystyrene particles (size 0.5 mm; nominal concentration 8 mgL−1), and their behavioral and physiological responses were compared to control shrimp. The exposed shrimps exhibited modified activity patterns (greater speeds, accelerations and distances moved), accompanied by a lowered standard metabolic rate (SMR). The observed effects differed in their progression from the 7th to 14th day of exposure, from undetectable changes (distance, SMR) to significant differences (speed, acceleration). Significant differences were also detected in the behavioral syndromes expressed by the exposed and controlled shrimps, indicating that the microplastics influence not only the particular traits, but also their functional relationships. As such, our study contributes to the integration of behavioral ecotoxicology in risk assessment, documenting the adverse performance of freshwater invertebrates exposed to microplastics with the potential to transpose the problem to higher levels of the food web.