Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK.
Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Aug 25;836:155144. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155144. Epub 2022 Apr 8.
Microplastics (<1 mm) are ubiquitous in our oceans and widely acknowledged as concerning contaminants due to the multi-faceted threats they exert on marine organisms and ecosystems. Anthozoans, including sea anemones and corals, are particularly at risk of microplastic uptake due to their proximity to the coastline, non-selective feeding mechanisms and sedentary nature. Here, the common snakelocks anemone (Anemonia viridis) was used to generate understanding of microplastic uptake in the relatively understudied Anthozoa class. A series of microplastic exposure and multi-stressor experiments were performed to examine particle shape and size selectivity, and to test for the influence of food availability and temperature on microplastic uptake. All A. viridis individuals were found to readily take up microplastics (mean 142.1 ± 83.4 particles per gram of tissue) but exhibited limited preference between different particle shapes and sizes (n = 32). Closer examination identified that uptake involved both ingestion and external tissue adhesion, where microplastics were trapped in secreted mucus. Microplastic uptake in A. viridis was not influenced by the presence of food or elevated water temperature (n = 40). Furthermore, environmental sampling was performed to investigate microplastic uptake in A. viridis (n = 8) on the coast of southwest England, with a mean of 17.5 ± 4.0 particles taken up per individual. Fibres represented the majority of particles (91%) followed by fragments (9%), with 87% either clear, blue or black in colour. FTIR analysis identified 70% of the particles as anthropogenic cellulosic or plastic polymers. Thus, this study provides evidence of microplastic uptake by A. viridis in both laboratory exposures experiments and in the marine environment. These findings support recent literature suggesting that external adhesion may be the primary mechanism in which anthozoans capture microplastics from the water column and highlights the potential role anemones can play as environmental microplastic bioindicators.
微塑料（<1 毫米）在我们的海洋中无处不在，由于它们对海洋生物和生态系统造成的多方面威胁，被广泛认为是令人关注的污染物。由于靠近海岸线、非选择性摄食机制和固着的生活方式，珊瑚虫，包括海葵和珊瑚，特别容易吸收微塑料。在这里，我们使用普通海葵（Anemonia viridis）来了解相对研究较少的珊瑚虫类动物对微塑料的吸收。进行了一系列微塑料暴露和多胁迫实验，以检查颗粒形状和尺寸选择性，并测试食物供应和温度对微塑料吸收的影响。所有的 A. viridis 个体都被发现容易吸收微塑料（平均每克组织 142.1 ± 83.4 个颗粒），但对不同颗粒形状和尺寸的吸收没有明显偏好（n = 32）。进一步研究发现，吸收涉及摄取和外部组织黏附，微塑料被分泌的黏液困住。A. viridis 对微塑料的吸收不受食物存在或升高水温的影响（n = 40）。此外，还进行了环境采样，以调查英国西南部海岸 A. viridis 对微塑料的吸收（n = 8），每个个体平均吸收 17.5 ± 4.0 个颗粒。纤维占颗粒的大多数（91%），其次是碎片（9%），其中 87%呈透明、蓝色或黑色。FTIR 分析确定 70%的颗粒为人造纤维素或塑料聚合物。因此，这项研究为 A. viridis 在实验室暴露实验和海洋环境中吸收微塑料提供了证据。这些发现支持了最近的文献，即外部黏附可能是珊瑚虫从水柱中捕获微塑料的主要机制，并强调了海葵作为环境微塑料生物标志物的潜在作用。
