EAT BREATHE EXCRETE REPEAT: Physiological Responses of the Mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis to Diclofenac and Ocean Acidification

Abstract

Combined effects of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac and lowered seawater pH were assessed on the physiological responses of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Bivalves were exposed for 1 week to natural pH (8.1) and two reduced pH values (pH −0.4 units and pH −0.7 units), as predicted under a climate change scenario. After the first week, exposure continued for additional 2 weeks, both in the absence and in the presence of environmentally relevant concentrations of diclofenac (0.05 and 0.5 µg/L). Clearance rate, respiration rate, and excretion rate were measured after 7 days of exposure to pH only and after 14 (T1) and 21 (T2) days of exposure to the various pH*diclofenac combinations. At all sampling times, pH significantly affected all the biological parameters considered, whereas diclofenac generally exhibited a significant influence only at T2. Overall, results demonstrated that the physiological performance of M. galloprovincialis was strongly influenced by the experimental conditions tested, in particular by the interaction between the two stressors after 21 days of exposure. Further studies are needed to assess the combined effects of climate changes and emerging contaminants on bivalve physiology during different life stages, especially reproduction.

Ocean Acidification, but Not Environmental Contaminants, Affects Fertilization Success and Sperm Motility in the Sea Urchin Paracentrotus lividus

“…Here, organisms can be exposed to a wide range of anthropogenic substances, including emerging contaminants with unknown environmental impacts, an aspect that raises increasing concern [16,17]. Laboratory and mesocosms experiments were carried out to test if OA can exacerbate the negative effects of different pollutants in several marine calcifying species including bivalves [18][19][20][21][22][23][24], echinoderms [25][26][27], and polychaetes [28][29][30] at both adult and larval stage. On the contrary, the effects of OA in combination with aquatic pollutants on gametes are still poorly studied.…”

“…Despite the high consumption, the environmental occurrence, and in the case of PFOS also the persistency of these contaminants being well documented, their effects on aquatic organisms need to be investigated more deeply also in relation to the ongoing climate change. Regarding DFC and CAF, it was already observed in other marine invertebrates that their presence at environmentally relevant concentrations can exacerbate OA effects on several physiological parameters at different life stages [20][21][22][23][24] but specifically not on sea urchins' sperm performances. Regarding PFOS instead, it is completely unknown the combined effects that PFOS and reduced pH can have in any marine invertebrate species.…”

Resilient consumers accelerate the plant decomposition in a naturally acidified seagrass ecosystem

“…Ocean acidification (OA) caused by increased atmospheric CO 2 is predicted to impact marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning globally. The effects of OA on the physiology, behavior, and fitness of marine organisms have been broadly examined (e.g., Byrne, 2012; Jellison et al, 2016; Kroeker et al, 2010; Munari et al, 2020; Teixidó et al, 2020). Nevertheless, scaling these responses to ecosystem dynamics has been challenging (Barry et al, 2011), as OA could elicit different ecological responses among the diversity of species (Kroeker et al, 2011), and it is extremely difficult to conduct community‐scale OA experiments in the laboratory.…”

Effects of Emerging Contaminants to Marine Organisms: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

“…Regarding the manuscripts published in this Special Issue, the effects of emerging contaminants have been evaluated in different marine species and at different levels of biological organization. For example, in mollusks, Munari et al [1] evaluated the effects of the exposure of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis to natural pH (8.1) and two reduced pH values (pH −0.4 units and pH −0.7 units), both in the absence and in the presence of environmentally relevant concentrations of diclofenac (0.05 and 0.5 µg/L). Clearance rate, respiration rate, and excretion rate were measured after 7 days of exposure to pH only after 14 (T1) and 21 (T2) days of exposure to the various pH*diclofenac combinations.…”