Effects of nanopolystyrene on the feeding behavior of the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis L.)

Abstract

As the industrial production of nanoplastic and the degradation of microplastic into smaller particles at sea increase, the potential amount of nanoplastics in the marine environment rises. It has been reported that mussels uptake 100-nm polystyrene (PS) beads; to date, however, the effects of this uptake on the organism are unknown. In the present study, the authors investigated the effects of 30-nm PS on the feeding behavior of the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) by exposing the organism to different nano PS and different algae (Pavlova lutheri) concentrations. The state of nano PS aggregation in the exposure medium was assessed using dynamic light scattering. In all treatments that contained nano PS, M. edulis produced pseudofeces. The total weight of the feces and pseudofeces increased with increasing nano PS and increasing algae concentration. Furthermore, M. edulis reduced its filtering activity when nano PS was present but still caused a decrease in the apparent nano PS concentration in the water. The presence of nano PS around the foot of M. edulis after the bioassay confirmed that the organism removed nano PS from the water. Chronic effect studies are therefore needed to investigate the effects of nanoplastics in M. edulis and possible consequences for its predators, including humans.

Ingestion of Microplastic Has Limited Impact on a Marine Larva

“…Wegner et al 51 found the mussel, M. edulis, reduced feeding rates in the presence of plastics, and hypothesised that the mussels were able to detect the microplastic and alter their feeding behaviour. Juvenile and adult sea urchins are known to selectively feed on seaweeds and artificial diets that are highly palatable and/or nutritious 52,53 .…”

Nanoplastics in the Aquatic Environment. Critical Review

“…Shim et al (2014) used SEM-EDS to confirm the presence of nanoplastics in abrasion experiments. In their effect study with mussels (Mytilus edulis), Wegner et al (2012) used multiple wavelength UV-VIS as a proxy to detect pink-dyed nanoparticles and used dynamic light scattering (DLS) to track the actual size of the bioavailable aggregates over time. Velzeboer et al (2014a) used transmission EM and conventional light microscopy to characterise pristine nanopolystyrene particles and aggregates, respectively.…”

“…This trade-off has not yet been quantified for NPs. Wegner et al (2012) were the first to measure and model the homoaggregation of 30 nm polystyrene particles in seawater and found rapid formation of 1000 nm aggregates within 16 minutes. Attachment efficiencies of 1 were required to explain the experimental observations (Wegner et al 2012).…”

“…Detection methods are in an early stage of development but to date no NPs have been detected in natural aquatic systems. Some first prognostic bioaccumulation and effect studies have been performed (Brown et al 2001;Ward and Kach 2009;Bhattacharya et al 2010;Wegner et al 2012;Lee et al 2013;Casado et al 2013;Besseling et al 2014b) but there is no systematic effect assessment for relevant aquatic species let alone for the community or ecosystem level. Apart from physiological consequences, NPs might also have chemical effects.…”

Development of a method for the detection of polystyrene microplastics in paraffin-embedded histological sections

“…For the purpose, mussel (Mytilus sp.) was taken as a biological model, since these organisms are one of the most surveyed targets for addressing ingestion and potential effects of microplastics, due to being filter-feeding bivalves (Browne et al 2008;Farrell and Nelson 2013;Van Cauwenberghe et al 2015;Wegner et al 2012). …”