Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare (DiSTeM), Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics - OGS, Trieste, Italy.
Glob Chang Biol. 2021 Jun;27(12):2645-2655. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15570. Epub 2021 Mar 14.
Over the years, concern about the effects of microplastics has grown. Here, we answered the main question "What are the impacts of microplastics on the functional traits of fish species?" through a meta-analysis. The general impact of microplastic exposure on the functional traits of fishes and specifically on eight variables, namely, behaviour, development, fecundity, feeding, growth, health, hatching and survival was explored. Subgroup analyses were performed to detect correlations between the impact of microplastics and the following factors: species, life stage, habitat, water column habitat, day of exposure to microplastics and microplastic size, type and shape. A meta-regression analysis allowed understanding the correlation between the impact of microplastics and the size of organisms. Generally, microplastics have a negative effect on the functional traits of fishes. Feeding and behaviour, followed by growth showed the greatest impact. Among the subgroup analysis, four of the eight variables considered showed a significant difference between groups: species, life stage, microplastic shape and days of exposure to microplastics. Depending on their life stage, organisms may be more sensitive to microplastic pollution. Changes in growth rates, development of early life stage and behavioural patterns in fishes may have a negative effect on the structure and functions of aquatic ecosystem in the long term and consequently affect the ability of aquatic ecosystems to provide ecosystem services and sustain human communities.
多年来，人们对微塑料影响的担忧与日俱增。在这里，我们通过荟萃分析回答了主要问题“微塑料对鱼类功能特征的影响是什么？”。探讨了微塑料暴露对鱼类功能特征的一般影响，以及对八个变量的具体影响，即行为、发育、繁殖、摄食、生长、健康、孵化和生存。进行了亚组分析，以检测微塑料的影响与以下因素之间的相关性：物种、生活阶段、栖息地、水柱栖息地、暴露于微塑料的天数以及微塑料的大小、类型和形状。元回归分析允许了解微塑料的影响与生物体大小之间的相关性。一般来说，微塑料对鱼类的功能特征有负面影响。摄食和行为，其次是生长，受到的影响最大。在亚组分析中，考虑的八个变量中有四个显示出组间的显著差异：物种、生活阶段、微塑料形状和暴露于微塑料的天数。根据其生活阶段，生物体可能对微塑料污染更敏感。鱼类生长速度的变化、早期生命阶段的发育和行为模式的变化可能会对水生生态系统的结构和功能产生长期的负面影响，从而影响水生生态系统提供生态系统服务和维持人类社区的能力。
