Microplastics effects in Scrobicularia plana

Tainá G. Fonseca,Beatriz P. Pereira,Maria João Bebianno,Nélia C. Mestre,Maria Fonseca,Laura M. Ilharco,Francisca Ribeiro,Ana R. Garcia

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.06.078

Tainá G. Fonseca, Beatriz P. Pereira

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.06.078

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Abstract

One of the most common plastics in the marine environment is polystyrene (PS) that can be broken down to micro sized particles. Marine organisms are vulnerable to the exposure to microplastics. This study assesses the effects of PS microplastics in tissues of the clam Scrobicularia plana. Clams were exposed to 1mgL−1 (20μm) for 14days, followed by 7days of depuration. A qualitative analysis by infrared spectroscopy in diffuse reflectance mode period detected the presence of microplastics in clam tissues upon exposure, which were not eliminated after depuration. The effects of microplastics were assessed by a battery of biomarkers and results revealed that microplastics induce effects on antioxidant capacity, DNA damage, neurotoxicity and oxidative damage. S. plana is a significant target to assess the environmental risk of PS microplastics.

Highlights

Plastics are used in everyday life and in several items: cars, electronic equipment, furniture, footwear, construction, food packages, among others
dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements show that dh of PS microplastics is 18.4 ± 1.33 μm, which is similar to the size specified by the manufacturer. ζ - potential measurements show that
A sharp decrease in turbidity is observed in MQ water during the first 2 hours (1.68 x 10-1 h-1) higher when compared to seawater (1.04 x 10-1 h-1) (p

Summary

Introduction

Plastics are used in everyday life and in several items: cars, electronic equipment, furniture, footwear, construction, food packages, among others. Plastic reaches the sea as litter from land-based sources, carried by rivers and municipal drainage systems (Derraik, 2002; Williams & Simmons, 1997) In the sea, these versatile and non-biodegradable polymers are found in the form of larger items (macroplastics), including hulls of boats and fishing nets many meters long, and tiny fragments (Browne et al, 2008; Canesi et al, 2015). When exposed to UV-B radiation, to the oxidative properties of the atmosphere and to the hydrolytic properties of seawater, these plastics brittle and break into smaller pieces, until they reach micrometres in length (microplastics), and potentially, the nano-scale level (nanoplastics) (Browne et al., 2008; Canesi et al, 2015)

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