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Microplastic leachates induce species-specific trait strengthening in intertidal mussels

2021-01Journal article Open access
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dc.contributor.authorSeuront, Laurent
dc.contributor.authorNicastro, Katy
dc.contributor.authorMcQuaid, Christopher D.
dc.contributor.authorZardi, Gerardo, I
dc.date.accessioned2021-06-18T16:25:48Z
dc.date.available2021-06-18T16:25:48Z
dc.date.issued2021-01
dc.description.abstractPlastic pollution is ubiquitous with increasing recognition of its direct effects on species’ fitness. Little is known, however, about its more subtle effects, including the influence of plastic pollution on the morphological, functional and behavioral traits of organisms that are central to their ability to withstand disturbances. Among the least obvious but most pernicious forms of plastic-associated pollution are the chemicals that leach from microplastics. Here, we investigate how such leachates influence species’ traits by assessing functional trait compensation across four species of intertidal mussels, through investigations of byssal thread production, movement and aggregation behavior for mussels held in natural seawater or seawater contaminated by microplastic leachates. We found no evidence for compensation of functional traits, but for each species, microplastic leachates reinforced one trait while others remained unaffected. Two species (Perna perna and Mytilus galloprovincialis), were characterized by a resistance strategy to disturbance; they produced more byssal threads in microplastic leachate seawater than in control seawater, while motility and aggregation remained essentially unaffected. In contrast, the other two species (M. edulis and Choromytilus meridionalis), showed a resilience strategy to disturbance through increased motility and aggregation in leachate seawater, while byssal thread production remained unaffected. These results suggest that the competitive abilities of intertidal mussels may be related to their sensitivity to microplastic leachates or other chemical disturbance. Importantly, the trait strengthening observed will affect the ability of these mussels to form spatially patterned beds, with implications for their quality as autogenic ecological engineers or foundation species. Thus, our findings have implications for the ability of mussel beds to tolerate disturbance, and hence for central ecosystem services, such as their ability to support biodiversity and enhance secondary and tertiary production. The results suggest that an inconspicuous aspect of plastic pollution has the potential to influence other communities and ecosystems in powerful ways.
dc.description.sponsorshipFrench Ministere de l'Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche
dc.description.sponsorshipHauts de France RegionRegion Hauts-de-France
dc.description.sponsorshipEuropean Funds for Regional Economical Development
dc.description.sponsorshipPierre Hubert Curien PESSOA Fellowship
dc.description.sponsorshipFundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT-MEC, Portugal) [IF/01413/2014/CP1217/CT0004]
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Research Foundation of South AfricaNational Research Foundation - South Africa [64801]
dc.description.sponsorshipSouth African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) of the Department of Science and Technology
dc.description.sponsorshipNational FoundationNational Science Foundation (NSF)
dc.description.sponsorshipSouth African National Research Foundation (NRF)National Research Foundation - South Africa
dc.description.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/eap.2222
dc.identifier.issn1051-0761
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/15676
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.publisherWiley
dc.subjectAggregation
dc.subjectChemical contamination
dc.subjectDisturbance
dc.subjectMicroplastic leachates
dc.subjectMicroplastic pollution
dc.subjectMovement
dc.subjectResilience
dc.subjectResistance
dc.subjectTrait compensation
dc.subjectTrait strengthening
dc.subject.otherEnvironmental Sciences & Ecology
dc.titleMicroplastic leachates induce species-specific trait strengthening in intertidal mussels
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.issue1
oaire.citation.titleEcological Applications
oaire.citation.volume31
person.familyNameNicastro
person.givenNameKaty
person.identifier.ciencia-id3E12-714B-AFE5
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-7071-141X
person.identifier.ridD-2259-2012
person.identifier.scopus-author-id12646675100
rcaap.rightsopenAccess
rcaap.typearticle
relation.isAuthorOfPublication6268844a-b0a2-4aa5-9616-c3afaba0e2ca
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery6268844a-b0a2-4aa5-9616-c3afaba0e2ca

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