School of Ecology and Environment, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, 241002, Anhui, China.
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023, Nanjing, China.
Ecotoxicology. 2022 Aug;31(6):1023-1034. doi: 10.1007/s10646-022-02572-0. Epub 2022 Jul 13.
The increasing production of nano-TiO has attracted extensive concerns about the ecological consequence and health risk of these compounds in natural ecosystem. However, little is known about its toxicity on zooplankton, especially its possibility to access to the food chain via dietary exposure. To address this concern, the toxic and cumulative effects of nano-TiO on an aquatic food chain were explored through two trophic levels independently or jointly including producer and consumer. The results revealed that exposure to suspensions of nanomaterials had negative effects on both producers and consumers. Specifically, nanoparticles reduced the density of algal cells in a concentration-dependent way, and hatching life expectancy, average lifespan, net reproductive rate, and population intrinsic growth rate of rotifers decreased significantly with the concentration of nanomaterials increased (P < 0.05). Notably, nanoparticles accumulated in algal cells and were transferred to consumers through dietary exposure. Biomagnification of nano-TiO was observed in this simplified food chain, as many of the biomagnification factor (BMF) values in this study were >1. Exposure concentration, exposure time and their interactions play a strong part in the accumulation of nanoparticles in algae and rotifers. Overall, the present findings confirmed that nano-TiO was deleterious to plankton, posing a significant environmental threat to aquatic ecosystems. Graphical abstract.
纳米 TiO 的产量不断增加，引起了人们对这些化合物在自然生态系统中的生态后果和健康风险的广泛关注。然而，关于其对浮游动物的毒性，特别是通过饮食暴露进入食物链的可能性，人们知之甚少。为了解决这一问题，本研究通过生产者和消费者两个独立或联合的营养级，分别探讨了纳米 TiO 对水生食物链的毒性和累积效应。结果表明，纳米材料悬浮液的暴露对生产者和消费者都有负面影响。具体来说，纳米颗粒以浓度依赖的方式降低了藻类细胞的密度，轮虫的孵化预期寿命、平均寿命、净生殖率和种群内禀增长率随着纳米材料浓度的增加而显著降低（P < 0.05）。值得注意的是，纳米颗粒在藻类细胞中积累，并通过饮食暴露转移到消费者中。在这个简化的食物链中观察到了纳米 TiO 的生物放大作用，因为本研究中的许多生物放大因子（BMF）值都大于 1。暴露浓度、暴露时间及其相互作用在纳米颗粒在藻类和轮虫中的积累中起着重要作用。总的来说，本研究结果证实了纳米 TiO 对浮游动物有害，对水生生态系统构成了重大的环境威胁。
