Document of bibliographic reference 395665

BibliographicReference record

Type

Bibliographic resource

Type of document

Journal article

BibLvlCode

AS

Title

Fauna – Microplastics interactions: Empirical insights from benthos community exposure to marine plastic waste

Abstract

Microplastic deposition in soft marine sediments raises concerns on their role in sediment habitats and unknown effects on resident macrobenthic communities. To assess the reciprocal influence that MPs and macrobenthos might have on each other, we performed a mesocosm experiment with ambient concentrations of environmental Polyethylene (PE) and a non-manipulated, natural macrobenthic community from the Belgian part of the North Sea (BPNS). Our results show that PE fragments increase mortality of abundant bivalves (specifically Abra alba) after 30 days of exposure but not for the most abundant polychaete Owenia fusiformis, possibly due to its predominant suspension feeding behavior. Fast burial of surface MPs exposes deep-dwelling burrowers to the pollutant, however reducing the amount of MPs interacting with (sub) surface living fauna. We conclude that macrobenthos promotes the sequestration of deposited MPs, counteracting resuspension, and can have cascading effects on biodiversity due to their effect on abundant and functionally important species.

Bibliographic citation

Pantó, G.; Aguilera Dal Grande, P.; Vanreusel, A.; Van Colen, C. (2024). Fauna – Microplastics interactions: Empirical insights from benthos community exposure to marine plastic waste. Mar. Environ. Res. 200: 106664. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106664

Topic

Marine

Is peer reviewed

true