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- Intraspecific genetic lineages of a marine mussel show behavioural divergence when exposed to microplastic leachatesPublication . Cozzolino, Lorenzo; Nicastro, Katy R; Hubbard, Peter; Seuront, Laurent; McQuaid, Christopher D.; Zardi, Gerardo IWorldwide, microplastic pollution has numerous negative implications for marine biota, exacerbating the effects of other forms of global anthropogenic disturbance. Mounting evidence shows that microplastics (MPs) not only cause physical damage through their ingestion, but also act as vectors for hazardous compounds by leaching absorbed and adsorbed chemicals. Research on the effects of plastic pollution has, however, largely assumed that species respond uniformly, while ignoring intraspecific diversity (i.e., variation within a single species). We investigated the effects of plastic leachates derived from factory-fresh (virgin) and beached microplastics on the behavioural responses of two genetic lineages of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Through laboratory behavioural experiments, we found that during exposure to leachates from beached microplastics (beached MPLs), Atlantic specimens moved significantly less than Mediterranean individuals in terms of both (i) proportion of individuals responding through movement and (ii) net and gross distances crawled. In contrast, no significant intraspecific differences were observed in the behaviour of either adults or recruits when exposed to MPLs from virgin microplastics (virgin MPLs). Additionally, the reception of cues from three amino acids (Lcysteine, proline and L-leucine) at increasing concentrations (10-5 M to 10-3 M in charcoal-filtered seawater) was tested by electrophysiological analysis using mussels exposed to beached MPLs or control seawater. We found significant intraspecific differences in response to 10-3 M L-cysteine (regardless of treatment) and 10-4 M L-cysteine (in mussels exposed to beached MPLs) and to 10-3 M proline (in mussels exposed to beached MPLs) and 10-5 M L-leucine. Our study suggests that intraspecific variation in a marine mussel may prompt different responses to plastic pollution, potentially triggered by local adaptation and physiological variability between lineages. Our work highlights the importance of assessing the effects of intraspecific variation, especially in environmental sentinel species as this level of diversity could modulate responses to plastic pollution.
- The relative effects of interspecific and intraspecific diversity on microplastic trapping in coastal biogenic habitatsPublication . Cozzolino, Lorenzo; Nicastro, Katy; Seuront, Laurent; McQuaid, Christopher D.; Zardi, Gerardo I.Our understanding of how anthropogenic stressors such as climate change and plastic pollution interact with biodiver-sity is being widened to include diversity below the species level, i.e., intraspecific variation. The emerging apprecia-tion of the key ecological importance of intraspecific diversity and its potential loss in the Anthropocene, further highlights the need to assess the relative importance of intraspecific versus interspecific diversity. One such issue is whether a species responds as a homogenous whole to plastic pollution. Using manipulative field transplant experi-ments and laboratory-controlled hydrodynamic simulations, we assessed the relative effects of intraspecific and inter -specific diversity on microplastic trapping in coastal biogenic habitats dominated by two key bioengineers, the brown intertidal macroalgae Fucus vesiculosus and F. guiryi. At the individual level, northern morphotypes of F. guiryi trapped more microplastics than southern individuals, and F. vesiculosus trapped more microplastics than F. guiryi. Canopy den-sity varied among species, however, leading to reversed patterns of microplastic accumulation, with F. guiryi canopies accumulating more microplastics than those of F. vesiculosus, while no differences were observed between the canopies of F. guiryi morphotypes. We emphasize the importance of assessing the effects of intraspecific variation which, along with other crucial factors such as canopy density, flow velocity and polymer composition, modulates the extent of microplastic accumulation in coastal biogenic habitats. Our findings indicate that a realistic estimation of plastic accu-mulation in biogenic habitats requires an understanding of within-and between-species traits at both the individual and population levels.
- Environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics and phenanthrene show limited effects on the behaviour and physiology of green crab lineagesPublication . Cozzolino, Lorenzo; Nicastro, Katy R.; McQuaid, Christopher D.; Halldórsson, Halldór P.; Lima, Fernando P.; Zardi, Gerardo I.Plastic pollution is a growing environmental concern, with microplastics (MPs) and associated contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) jeopardising the resilience and long-term survival of marine species. While species-specific effects have been well-documented, the role of intraspecific diversity in modulating species’ responses to these contaminants remains largely neglected. This study investigates whether genetically distinct lineages of the green crab (Carcinus maenas) differ in their behavioural and physiological responses to environmentally relevant concentrations of polyethylene microplastics (PE) and PE contaminated with phenanthrene (PE+PHE). Juvenile crabs from the Southwest European (SWE) and Icelandic (ICE) populations were exposed to control seawater, PE, or PE+PHE for 72 h, and their behavioural (i.e., food contest) and physiological performances (i.e., heart rate) were assessed. Overall, there were no significant effects of PE or PE+PHE on key behavioural traits related to food competition (e.g., latency to initiate movement, interbout intervals, contest outcome) or on physiological parameters such as heart rate. However, resource possession was significantly reduced in ICE crabs exposed to PE. Our findings suggest that C. maenas exhibits short-term resilience to MPs and PAHs, with similar behavioural responses across distinct genotypic lineages (SWE = ICE). However, differences in heart rates between genetically distinct populations, even in control conditions, highlight the potential effect of lineage-specific physiological plasticity. In addition, high inter-individual variability in behavioural responses suggests susceptibility to MPs and PAHs may not be uniform within populations. Long-term assessments incorporating individual-based analyses are needed to fully understand the complex interplay between plastic pollution, genetic diversity, and behavioural plasticity in this marine species.