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Urbina MA, da Silva Montes C, Schäfer A, Castillo N, Urzúa Á, Lagos ME. Slow and steady hurts the crab: Effects of chronic and acute microplastic exposures on a filter feeder crab. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 857:159135. [PMID: 36191714 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Microplastics are a widespread environmental contaminant. Although detrimental effects on aquatic organisms are well documented, little is known about the long-term effects of microplastic exposure to filter-feeding organisms at ecologically realistic levels. This study investigates the effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of polyethylene micro beads ranging in size from 3 to 30 μm, on the physiology and energetics of a coastal filter-feeding crab Petrolisthes laevigatus. We evaluated the impact of microplastics by exposing P. laevigatus to two different concentrations and exposure times: i) a chronic exposure for five months at 250 particles L-1, and ii) an acute exposure for 48 h at 20,800 particles L-1, ~80 times higher than the chronic exposure. The results showed that only chronic exposures elicited negative effects on the coastal crab in both, metabolic and physiological parameters. Our findings demonstrate a strong correlation between the ingestion rate and weight loss, even at low concentrations, the crabs exhibited severe nutritional damage as a result of long-term microplastic exposure. By contrast, acute exposure revealed no significant effects to the crabs, a possible explanation for this being short-term compensatory responses. These results suggest that environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics are harmful to marine organisms, and they should be evaluated during realistic temporal scales, as their effects strongly dependent on the exposure time. Our results also suggest that the effects of microplastics have been likely underestimated to date, due to the dominance of short-term exposures (acute) reported in the current literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauricio A Urbina
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile; Instituto Milenio de Oceanografía (IMO), Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
| | - Caroline da Silva Montes
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Angela Schäfer
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Nicole Castillo
- Coastal Socio-Ecological Millennium Institute (SECOS), Universidad de Concepción & P. Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile; Coastal Ecosystems & Global Environmental Change Lab (ECCALab), Department of Aquatic System, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Universidad de Concepción, Concepcion, Chile
| | - Ángel Urzúa
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Ambientes Sustentables (CIBAS), Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Marcelo E Lagos
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile; SWIRE Institute of Marine Sciences & School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong
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Lagos ME, Castillo N, Albarrán-Mélzer N, Pinochet J, Gebauer P, Urbina MA. Age dependent physiological tolerances explain population dynamics and distribution in the intertidal zone: A study with porcelain crabs. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2021; 169:105343. [PMID: 33930797 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Population dynamics and their response to environmental stressors have been widely studied in intertidal organisms. However, how these dynamics and responses change with animal age have been largely ignored to date. Traditionally, it is assumed that younger organisms are more sensitive than adults to environmental stressors; under this perspective it could be predicted that fully grown organisms should be able to occupy the harsh upper limit of their intertidal habitat. However, in some intertidal Porcelain crabs the opposite distribution has been observed. Using Petrolisthes laevigatus, we tested the physiological tolerance of crabs of different sizes (i.e. age) and evaluated how this trait shapes population dynamics (distribution and small-scale migrations under different weather conditions). We determined the abundance and size distribution of P. laevigatus at the middle and upper intertidal levels during sunny and rainy days, finding that abundances decreased drastically and size distribution shifted to smaller individuals on rainy days. In the laboratory, survival and behavioural responses of individuals in water at 5, 10, 15 and 33 PSU salinities were evaluated. Young crabs were found in higher proportion in the upper intertidal while fully grown crabs (i.e. adults) mainly occupied the middle intertidal zone. Young crabs had a higher osmoregulatory capacity than adults, as they were better at regulating passive water uptake when challenged with diluted seawater. This was also correlated with a lower lethal salinity LC50 in young crabs compared to adults. Behavioural trials showed that young crabs performed better escaping in both water and air, at intermediate and reduced salinities than adults. Therefore, weather influences small scale migrations from the upper to the lower intertidal zone, and this migration is also age-dependent, with younger crabs being more tolerant to low salinities and therefore allowing them to remain in the upper intertidal zone during raniny days.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo E Lagos
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile.
| | - Nicole Castillo
- Facultad de Ciencias Ambientales y Centro EULA, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, 4070386, Chile.
| | - Natalia Albarrán-Mélzer
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile; Laboratorio de Malacología, División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juarez Autónoma de Tabasco, Km 0.5. Carretera Villahermosa- Cárdenas, Villahermosa, C.P., 94250, Tabasco, Mexico.
| | - Javier Pinochet
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de La Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile; Programa de Doctorado en Sistemática y Biodiversidad, Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Campus Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile.
| | - Paulina Gebauer
- Centro i~mar, Universidad de Los Lagos, Camino Chinquihue Km 6, Puerto Montt, Chile.
| | - Mauricio A Urbina
- Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile; Instituto Milenio de Oceanografía (IMO), Universidad de Concepción, PO Box 1313, Concepción, Chile.
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Viña-Trillos N, Urzúa Á. Comparison of lipids and fatty acids among tissues of two semiterrestrial crabs reveals ecophysiological adaptations in changing coastal environments. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2021; 259:111012. [PMID: 34102296 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2021.111012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Decapods have successfully colonized changing coastal habitats throughout the world by adapting their behavior, physiology, and biochemistry. Biochemical reserves, such as lipids and fatty acids (FAs), play fundamental roles in this adaptation process. These energy reserves are key for the development of decapods and their composition mainly depends on the type and quality of food available in their habitats. This study evaluated the lipid content and FA composition of three tissues (hepatopancreas, gills, and muscle) in two widely distributed, semi-terrestrial coastal crab species in Chile, Cyclograpsus cinereus from the upper intertidal and Hemigrapsus crenulatus from estuaries. This evaluation aimed to assess the physiological role of the bioenergetic reserves of these crabs, which tolerate fluctuating environmental conditions. Our results showed that both species had a higher lipid content in the hepatopancreas and a lower lipid content in its gills and muscle. All three of the evaluated tissues in C. cinereus showed high contents of saturated fatty acids (SFAs), and its hepatopancreas displayed the highest contents of monounsaturated (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). In turn, H. crenulatus had the highest contents of MUFAs and PUFAs in its gills and muscle tissues, including an important amount of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). The FA content of C. cinereus may indicate an adaptive physiological response aimed at maintaining its cellular fluid balance during periods of desiccation in the upper intertidal zone. In contrast, the FAs found in H. crenulatus may be linked to the high activity of the sodium‑potassium pump in its gills, in order to maintain osmoregulation in estuaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Viña-Trillos
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción (UCSC), Casilla 297. Concepción, Chile; Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Mención Biodiversidad y Biorecursos, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Ambientes Sustentables (CIBAS), Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Ángel Urzúa
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción (UCSC), Casilla 297. Concepción, Chile; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Ambientes Sustentables (CIBAS), Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
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Viña-Trillos N, Guzmán-Rivas F, Urzúa Á. The cascade of effects caused by emersion during early ontogeny in porcelain crabs of the Southeast Pacific coast: Biochemical responses of offspring. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2021; 259:111002. [PMID: 34098131 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2021.111002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Revised: 05/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Petrolisthes crabs inhabit a wide range of coastal environments, from the upper intertidal to the subtidal, experiencing regular changes in pH, salinity, and temperature. Hence, such subtidal and intertidal invertebrates are likely to show physiological and biochemical adaptive responses in order to successfully develop during early ontogenetic stages and thus reach reproduction. We herein evaluated the biochemical responses to contrasting environmental conditions of the early ontogenetic stages of two coastal crabs from the Southeast Pacific coast: Petrolisthes laevigatus and Allopetrolisthes punctatus. For this purpose, stage I embryos of both species were subjected to two treatments: (1) emersion (i.e., a daily 3 h aerial exposure until the zoeas hatched) and (2) immersion (i.e., uninterrupted underwater submersion until the zoeas hatched); the total contents of glucose, proteins, lipids, and fatty acids of the organisms were measured in stage I embryos and recently hatched zoeas in order to assess the biochemical constitution of the two species. Both species showed changes in their energetic reserves when treatments within species were compared. Our results found that A. punctatus was negatively affected by stressful periods of emersion, while P. laevigatus showed the opposite tendency and was affected by periods of immersion. The sensitivity of the response and the contrasting outcomes for these two crabs underpin the fact that changes in environmental conditions along the Chilean coast due to climate change (e.g., increased anoxic coastal waters) may have significantly negative consequences on the populations of these ecologically important species and the associated taxa within their ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Viña-Trillos
- Programa de Magíster en Ecología Marina, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile; Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Ambientes Sustentables (CIBAS), Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Fabián Guzmán-Rivas
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Ambientes Sustentables (CIBAS), Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Ángel Urzúa
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Ambientes Sustentables (CIBAS), Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
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