Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/30494
Title: Microplastic ingestion by an aquatic ciliate: Functional response, modulation, and reduced population growth
Authors: Perkins, DM
Mueller, HL
Grunewald, S
Reiss, J
Restrepo-Sulez, K
Robertson, A
Perna, A
Issue Date: 15-Jan-2025
Publisher: Elsevier
Citation: Perkins, D.M. et al. (2025) 'Microplastic ingestion by an aquatic ciliate: Functional response, modulation, and reduced population growth', Science of the Total Environment, 963, 178272, pp. 1 - 9. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.178272.
Abstract: Microplastic particles are ubiquitous in aquatic environments and are considered a major threat to the large range of heterotrophic organisms that involuntarily consume them. However, there is current uncertainty around the mechanisms underpinning microplastic uptake by aquatic consumers and the consequences for both the fate of the microplastics and the growth potential of consumer populations. We performed a feeding experiment, exposing a model freshwater ciliate, Tetrahymena pyriformis, to six different microplastic concentrations and measured microplastic uptake and population growth over the course of several generations. Microplastic uptake increased in a saturating fashion with concentration, consistent with a Type II functional response, with a maximum feeding rate of 22 microplastic particles individual−1 h−1. Interestingly, microplastic uptake decreased through time and we observed that, after egestion, microplastic particles aggregated, rendering them too large for re-consumption. We built and tested a simulation model which matched rates of microplastic uptake when incorporating functional response parameters and assuming 50 % immobilisation of microplastics after egestion. Nevertheless, ciliate population growth was compromised by the presence of microplastics, decreasing by 43 % over the full microplastic concentration range. Taken together, our results demonstrate the potential for aquatic ciliates to play an important role in the uptake, transfer, and modification of microplastics in freshwater environments with associated negative impacts on population fitness.
Description: Data availability: The data underpinning this publication can be accessed from Brunel University of London's data repository, Brunelfigshare under a CC BY licence: https://doi.org/10.17633/rd.brunel.27960867.
Graphical abstract: download high-res image at https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0048969724084304-ga1_lrg.jpg (71KB); download full-size image at: https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0048969724084304-ga1.jpg. Three main findings underpinning microplastic feeding by a small ciliate. Microplastics are readily taken up by ciliates which then represent a reservoir for those pollutants. After egestion, microplastics form a pellet; hence the protists modulate the availability of the pollutant. Population growth declines with microplastic concentration. The photos were taken during the experiment at 200× magnification and show plastic microbeads inside the ciliates and after egestion.
URI: https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/30494
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.178272
ISSN: 0048-9697
Other Identifiers: ORCiD: Daniel M. Perkins https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0866-4816
ORCiD: Julia Reiss https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3740-0046
178272
Appears in Collections:Dept of Life Sciences Research Papers

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