Leachates from pyroplastics alter the behaviour of a key ecosystem engineer
- Zardi, Gerardo I, Seuront, Laurent, Spilmont, Niolas, Froneman, P William, Nicastro, Katy R
- Authors: Zardi, Gerardo I , Seuront, Laurent , Spilmont, Niolas , Froneman, P William , Nicastro, Katy R
- Date: 2024
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479264 , vital:78280 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2024.108740
- Description: As plastic pollution is increasing rapidly, novel forms of plastic litter have been lately described. One of most recently described type of plastic litter is pyroplastic, i.e. an amorphous matrix derived from the burning of manufactured plastics. We surveyed 12 locations along northern French shores where mussel reefs are a predominant feature. We recorded pyroplastic items at six sites (average weight of 3.34g) mainly made of polyethylene. We then tested the effects of exposure to raw and beached pyroplastic leachates on adaptive behavioural traits of the mussel Mytilus edulis, a key ecosystem engineer. The ability of mussels to move and aggregate were significantly affected by pyroplastic leachates, particularly those from beached pyroplastics. Additionally, the strength of the effects was polymer-dependent, with PE having a more pronounced effects than PP. Our results provide the first evidence that pyroplastics have more severe impacts on living organisms than those triggered by non-burnt plastics.
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- Authors: Zardi, Gerardo I , Seuront, Laurent , Spilmont, Niolas , Froneman, P William , Nicastro, Katy R
- Date: 2024
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479264 , vital:78280 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2024.108740
- Description: As plastic pollution is increasing rapidly, novel forms of plastic litter have been lately described. One of most recently described type of plastic litter is pyroplastic, i.e. an amorphous matrix derived from the burning of manufactured plastics. We surveyed 12 locations along northern French shores where mussel reefs are a predominant feature. We recorded pyroplastic items at six sites (average weight of 3.34g) mainly made of polyethylene. We then tested the effects of exposure to raw and beached pyroplastic leachates on adaptive behavioural traits of the mussel Mytilus edulis, a key ecosystem engineer. The ability of mussels to move and aggregate were significantly affected by pyroplastic leachates, particularly those from beached pyroplastics. Additionally, the strength of the effects was polymer-dependent, with PE having a more pronounced effects than PP. Our results provide the first evidence that pyroplastics have more severe impacts on living organisms than those triggered by non-burnt plastics.
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Microplastic leachates inhibit small-scale self-organization in mussel beds
- Zardi, Gerardo I, Nicastro, Katy R, Truong, Stéphanie Lau, Decorse, Philippe, Nozak, Sophie, Chevillot-Biraud, Alexandre, Froneman, P William, Akoueson, Fleurine, Duflos, Guillaume, Seuront, Laurent
- Authors: Zardi, Gerardo I , Nicastro, Katy R , Truong, Stéphanie Lau , Decorse, Philippe , Nozak, Sophie , Chevillot-Biraud, Alexandre , Froneman, P William , Akoueson, Fleurine , Duflos, Guillaume , Seuront, Laurent
- Date: 2024
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479275 , vital:78281 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169816
- Description: Self-organized spatial patterns are increasingly recognized for their contribution to ecosystem functioning. They can improve the ecosystem's ability to respond to perturbation and thus increase its resilience to environmental stress. Plastic pollution has now emerged as major threat to aquatic and terrestrial biota. Under laboratory conditions, we tested whether plastic leachates from pellets collected in the intertidal can impair small-scale, spatial self-organization and byssal threads production of intertidal mussels and whether the effect varied depending on where the pellets come from. Specifically, leachates originating from plastic pellets collected from relatively pristine and polluted areas respectively impaired and inhibited the ability of mussels to self-organize at small-scale and to produce byssal threads compared to control conditions (i.e., seawater without leaching solution). Limitations to natural self-organizing processes and threads formation may translate to a declined capacity of natural ecosystems to avoid tipping points and to a reduced restoration success of disturbed ecosystems.
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- Authors: Zardi, Gerardo I , Nicastro, Katy R , Truong, Stéphanie Lau , Decorse, Philippe , Nozak, Sophie , Chevillot-Biraud, Alexandre , Froneman, P William , Akoueson, Fleurine , Duflos, Guillaume , Seuront, Laurent
- Date: 2024
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479275 , vital:78281 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169816
- Description: Self-organized spatial patterns are increasingly recognized for their contribution to ecosystem functioning. They can improve the ecosystem's ability to respond to perturbation and thus increase its resilience to environmental stress. Plastic pollution has now emerged as major threat to aquatic and terrestrial biota. Under laboratory conditions, we tested whether plastic leachates from pellets collected in the intertidal can impair small-scale, spatial self-organization and byssal threads production of intertidal mussels and whether the effect varied depending on where the pellets come from. Specifically, leachates originating from plastic pellets collected from relatively pristine and polluted areas respectively impaired and inhibited the ability of mussels to self-organize at small-scale and to produce byssal threads compared to control conditions (i.e., seawater without leaching solution). Limitations to natural self-organizing processes and threads formation may translate to a declined capacity of natural ecosystems to avoid tipping points and to a reduced restoration success of disturbed ecosystems.
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Euendolithic Infestation of Mussel Shells Indirectly Improves the Thermal Buffering Offered by Mussel Beds to Associated Molluscs, but One Size Does Not Fit All
- Dievart, Alexia M, McQuaid, Christopher D, Zardi, Gerardo I, Nicastro, Katy R, Froneman, P William
- Authors: Dievart, Alexia M , McQuaid, Christopher D , Zardi, Gerardo I , Nicastro, Katy R , Froneman, P William
- Date: 2023
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/465754 , vital:76638 , https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020239
- Description: Mussel beds form important intertidal matrices that provide thermal buffering to associated invertebrate communities, especially under stressful environmental conditions. Mussel shells are often colonized by photoautotrophic euendoliths, which have indirect conditional beneficial thermoregulatory effects on both solitary and aggregated mussels by increasing the albedo of the shell. We investigated whether euendolithic infestation of artificial mussel beds (Perna perna) influences the body temperatures of four associated mollusc species during simulated periods of emersion, using shell temperature obtained via non-invasive infrared thermography as a proxy.
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- Authors: Dievart, Alexia M , McQuaid, Christopher D , Zardi, Gerardo I , Nicastro, Katy R , Froneman, P William
- Date: 2023
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/465754 , vital:76638 , https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020239
- Description: Mussel beds form important intertidal matrices that provide thermal buffering to associated invertebrate communities, especially under stressful environmental conditions. Mussel shells are often colonized by photoautotrophic euendoliths, which have indirect conditional beneficial thermoregulatory effects on both solitary and aggregated mussels by increasing the albedo of the shell. We investigated whether euendolithic infestation of artificial mussel beds (Perna perna) influences the body temperatures of four associated mollusc species during simulated periods of emersion, using shell temperature obtained via non-invasive infrared thermography as a proxy.
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The effect of interspecific and intraspecific diversity on microplastic ingestion in two co-occurring mussel species in South Africa
- Cozzolino, Lorenzo, Nicastro, Katy R, Lefebvre, Sebastien, Corona, Luana, Froneman, P William, McQuaid, Christopher D, Zardi, Gerardo I
- Authors: Cozzolino, Lorenzo , Nicastro, Katy R , Lefebvre, Sebastien , Corona, Luana , Froneman, P William , McQuaid, Christopher D , Zardi, Gerardo I
- Date: 2023
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479297 , vital:78284 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.169912
- Description: Interspecific and intraspecific diversity are essential components of biodiversity with far-reaching implications for ecosystem function and service provision. Importantly, genotypic and phenotypic variation within a species can affect responses to anthropogenic pressures more than interspecific diversity. We investigated the effects of interspecific and intraspecific diversity on microplastic ingestion by two coexisting mussel species in South Africa, Mytilus galloprovincialis and Perna perna, the latter occurring as two genetic lineages.
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- Authors: Cozzolino, Lorenzo , Nicastro, Katy R , Lefebvre, Sebastien , Corona, Luana , Froneman, P William , McQuaid, Christopher D , Zardi, Gerardo I
- Date: 2023
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479297 , vital:78284 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.169912
- Description: Interspecific and intraspecific diversity are essential components of biodiversity with far-reaching implications for ecosystem function and service provision. Importantly, genotypic and phenotypic variation within a species can affect responses to anthropogenic pressures more than interspecific diversity. We investigated the effects of interspecific and intraspecific diversity on microplastic ingestion by two coexisting mussel species in South Africa, Mytilus galloprovincialis and Perna perna, the latter occurring as two genetic lineages.
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Photoautotrophic euendoliths and their complex ecological effects in marine bioengineered ecosystems
- Dievart, Alexia M, McQuaid, Christopher D, Zardi, Gerardo I, Nicastro, Katy R, Froneman, P William
- Authors: Dievart, Alexia M , McQuaid, Christopher D , Zardi, Gerardo I , Nicastro, Katy R , Froneman, P William
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479286 , vital:78283 , https://doi.org/10.3390/d14090737
- Description: Photoautotrophic euendolithic microorganisms are ubiquitous where there are calcium carbonate substrates to bore into and sufficient light to sustain photosynthesis. The most diverse and abundant modern euendolithic communities can be found in the marine environment. Euendoliths, as microorganisms infesting inanimate substrates, were first thought to be ecologically irrelevant. Over the past three decades, numerous studies have subsequently shown that euendoliths can colonize living marine calcifying organisms, such as coral skeletons and bivalve shells, causing both sub-lethal and lethal damage. Moreover, under suitable environmental conditions, their presence can have surprising benefits for the host. Thus, infestation by photoautotrophic euendoliths has significant consequences for calcifying organisms that are of particular importance in the case of ecosystems underpinned by calcifying ecosystem engineers. In this review, we address the nature and diversity of marine euendoliths, as revealed recently through genetic techniques, their bioerosive mechanisms, how environmental conditions influence their incidence in marine ecosystems and their potential as bioindicators, how they affect live calcifiers, and the potential future of euendolithic infestation in the context of global climate change and ocean acidification.
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Photoautotrophic euendoliths and their complex ecological effects in marine bioengineered ecosystems
- Authors: Dievart, Alexia M , McQuaid, Christopher D , Zardi, Gerardo I , Nicastro, Katy R , Froneman, P William
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479286 , vital:78283 , https://doi.org/10.3390/d14090737
- Description: Photoautotrophic euendolithic microorganisms are ubiquitous where there are calcium carbonate substrates to bore into and sufficient light to sustain photosynthesis. The most diverse and abundant modern euendolithic communities can be found in the marine environment. Euendoliths, as microorganisms infesting inanimate substrates, were first thought to be ecologically irrelevant. Over the past three decades, numerous studies have subsequently shown that euendoliths can colonize living marine calcifying organisms, such as coral skeletons and bivalve shells, causing both sub-lethal and lethal damage. Moreover, under suitable environmental conditions, their presence can have surprising benefits for the host. Thus, infestation by photoautotrophic euendoliths has significant consequences for calcifying organisms that are of particular importance in the case of ecosystems underpinned by calcifying ecosystem engineers. In this review, we address the nature and diversity of marine euendoliths, as revealed recently through genetic techniques, their bioerosive mechanisms, how environmental conditions influence their incidence in marine ecosystems and their potential as bioindicators, how they affect live calcifiers, and the potential future of euendolithic infestation in the context of global climate change and ocean acidification.
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