Skip to main content
Publications | Persons | Institutes | Projects
[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

Short-term microplastic effects on marine meiofauna abundance, diversity and community composition
de França, F.J.L.; Moens, T.; da Silva, R.B.; Pessoa, G.L.; França, D.A.A.; dos Santos, G.A.P. (2024). Short-term microplastic effects on marine meiofauna abundance, diversity and community composition. PeerJ 12: e17641. https://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17641
In: PeerJ. PeerJ: Corte Madera & London. e-ISSN 2167-8359, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Keywords
    Aquatic communities > Benthos > Meiobenthos
    Fluorescence
    Ingestion
    Pollution
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    Marine impact, Dose-dependent effect, Plastic, Microcosm, Community structure

Authors  Top 
  • de França, F.J.L.
  • Moens, T., more
  • da Silva, R.B.
  • Pessoa, G.L.
  • França, D.A.A.
  • dos Santos, G.A.P.

Abstract

    Background

    Due to the copious disposal of plastics, marine ecosystems receive a large part of this waste. Microplastics (MPs) are solid particles smaller than 5 millimeters in size. Among the plastic polymers, polystyrene (PS) is one of the most commonly used and discarded. Due to its density being greater than that of water, it accumulates in marine sediments, potentially affecting benthic communities. This study investigated the ingestion of MP and their effect on the meiofauna community of a sandy beach. Meiofauna are an important trophic link between the basal and higher trophic levels of sedimentary food webs and may therefore be substantially involved in trophic transfer of MP and their associated compounds.

    Methods

    We incubated microcosms without addition of MP (controls) and treatments contaminated with PS MP (1-µm) in marine sediments at three nominal concentrations (103, 105, 107particles/mL), for nine days, and sampled for meiofauna with collections every three days. At each sampling time, meiofauna were collected, quantified and identified to higher-taxon level, and ingestion of MP was quantified under an epifluorescence microscope.

    Results

    Except for Tardigrada, all meiofauna taxa (Nematoda, turbellarians, Copepoda, Nauplii, Acari and Gastrotricha) ingested MP. Absorption was strongly dose dependent, being highest at 107 particles/mL, very low at 105 particles/mL and non-demonstrable at 103 particles/mL. Nematodes accumulated MP mainly in the intestine; MP abundance in the intestine increased with increasing incubation time. The total meiofauna density and species richness were significantly lower at the lowest MP concentration, while at the highest concentration these parameters were very similar to the control. In contrast, Shannon-Wiener diversity and evenness were greater in treatments with low MP concentration. However, these results should be interpreted with caution because of the low meiofauna abundances at the lower two MP concentrations.

    Conclusion

    At the highest MP concentration, abundance, taxonomic diversity and community structure of a beach meiofauna community were not significantly affected, suggesting that MP effects on meiofauna are at most subtle. However, lower MP concentrations did cause substantial declines in abundance and diversity, in line with previous studies at the population and community level. While we can only speculate on the underlying mechanism(s) of this counterintuitive response, results suggest that further research is needed to better understand MP effects on marine benthic communities. 

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors