Abstract
The increased use of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in consumer products raises the concern of environmental release and subsequent impacts in natural communities. We tested for physiological and demographic impacts of ZnO, a prevalent metal oxide ENP, on the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. We exposed mussels of two size classes, <4.5 and ≥4.5 cm shell length, to 0.1–2 mg l−1 ZnO ENPs in seawater for 12 wk, and measured the effect on mussel respiration, accumulation of Zn, growth, and survival. After 12 wk of exposure to ZnO ENPs, respiration rates of mussels increased with ZnO concentration. Mussels had up to three fold more Zn in tissues than control groups after 12 wk of exposure, but patterns of Zn accumulation varied with mussel size and Zn concentrations. Small mussels accumulated Zn 10 times faster than large mussels at 0.5 mg l−1, while large mussels accumulated Zn four times faster than small mussels at 2 mg l−1. Mussels exposed to 2 mg l−1 ZnO grew 40% less than mussels in our control group for both size classes. Survival significantly decreased only in groups exposed to the highest ZnO concentration (2 mg l−1) and was lower for small mussels than large. Our results indicate that ZnO ENPs are toxic to mussels but at levels unlikely to be reached in natural marine waters.
Highlights
Increasing production of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) for use in a variety of applications has raised concern about their potential ecological impacts [1,2]
Respiration Volume specific respiration rate of mussels was consistently higher for small mussels than large mussels (Figure 1)
Respiration rate of mussels generally increased with increasing ZnO ENP concentration (OLS: t2, 113 = 2.27; p,0.05) and was significantly higher for small mussels than large (OLS: t2, 113 = 5.67, p,0.0001)
Summary
Increasing production of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) for use in a variety of applications has raised concern about their potential ecological impacts [1,2]. Metal and metal oxide ENPs reduce the growth rates of bacteria [5], freshwater algae [6], and marine phytoplankton [7,8], and survival of fish [9,10] and crustaceans [11]. While these studies show that ENPs are potentially hazardous, many of them used short-term laboratory exposure tests with relatively short-lived species, which hinders the use of the results in making ecologically relevant predictions. Environmental loading models [12] suggest that most ENPs are not substantial environmental risk factors at present
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