One of the first microplastic fiber toxicity studies with marine species

Eight million metric tons of plastic enter the global oceans annually. With an increasing societal reliance on plastics, there is a need to understand the risk of plastics in our ecosystems. Microplastics (MP) are now recognized as a major pollutant threatening aquatic environments across the globe. The impacts of MP presence and consumption on aquatic species is still unknown, especially for microplastic fibers (MPF), which represent the most abundant morphology type of MPs detected in surface water, wastewater effluent, and stormwater. USC Sea Grant funded a study to address the impact of environmentally relevant MPF on aquatic species with different feeding strategies. The study exposes oysters and fish species to environmentally relevant MPF concentrations and monitors uptake, tissue distribution, and relative impact(s) on biomass, tissue damage, and other potential markers of toxicity. This work will be among the first to address MPF toxicity. As California develops new management strategies to monitor microplastics, it is critical that the ecologically relevant effects of microplastic exposure are fully understood. 

Key Results:

  • Novel study design and methodology invented
  • Novel study design and methodology invented
  • Completed two 21-day MPF exposures of silverside fish. MPF accumulation in fish tissue was higher in fish exposed to higher concentrations relevant to the control and the lower treatments. There was no significant impact of MPF exposure on fish growth or feeding behavior. 
  • A 21-day MPF exposure for oysters was completed; data is being analyzed. 
  • Researchers predict both species will display changes in gene expression indicative of an MPF-induced stress response and future studies covering longer time frames may be needed to determine impacts on life history

 

Project Impacts & Application:

  • Presentation at the 2023 Southern California Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Annual Meeting
  • The study is preparing to enter the results into an open-access database that can be used to guide future studies and risk management platforms

 

Principal Investigator:

  • Erika Holland, Ph.D., California State University, Long Beach
  • Thornton-Hampton, Ph.D., Southern California Coastal Water Research Project

 

Funding:

NOAA, 2022-2024

 

Additional Info:

https://www.holland-toxlab.com

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