Role of benzophenone-3 additive in the effect of polyethylene microplastics on Daphnia magna population dynamics

Changhae Kim, Gabriela Kalčíková, Jinho Jung

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The adverse effects of microplastics (MPs) on Daphnia magna have been extensively studied; however, their population-level effects are relatively unknown. This study investigated the effect of polyethylene MP fragments (33.90 ± 17.44 μm) and benzophenone-3 (BP-3), which is a widely used plastic additive (2.91 ± 0.02% w/w), on D. magna population dynamics in a 34-day microcosm experiment. In the growth phase, neither MP nor MP/BP-3 fragments changed the population size of D. magna compared with the control. However, MP/BP-3 fragments significantly reduced (p < 0.05) the population biomass compared to that of the control, whereas MP fragments did not induce a significant reduction. The MP/BP-3 group had a significantly higher (p < 0.05) neonate proportion than that in the control and MP groups. MP/BP-3 fragments upregulated usp and downregulated ecrb, ftz-f1, and hr3, altering gene expression in the ecdysone signaling pathway linked to D. magna growth and development. These findings suggested that BP-3 in MP/BP-3 fragments may disrupt neonatal growth, thereby decreasing population biomass. In the decline phase, MP fragments significantly decreased (p < 0.05) the population size and biomass of D. magna compared with the control and MP/BP-3 fragments. This study highlights the importance of plastic additives in the population-level ecotoxicity of MPs.

Original languageEnglish
Article number106901
JournalAquatic Toxicology
Volume270
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024 May

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024

Keywords

  • Chronic toxicity
  • Microcosm
  • Plastic additive
  • Population-level effect
  • UV filter

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Aquatic Science
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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