Does plastic type matter? Insights into non-indigenous marine larvae recruitment under controlled conditions

PeerJ

article

François Audrézet¹  Anastasija Zaiko¹  Patrick Cahill¹  Olivier Champeau¹  Louis A. Tremblay¹  Dawn Smith⁴  Susanna A. Wood¹  Gavin Lear³  Xavier Pochon¹ 

[1]Cawthron Institute

[2]University of Auckland, Institute of Marine Science

[3]University of Auckland, School of Biological Sciences

[4]Rua Bioscience

关键词: Biosecurity;    Plastic debris;    DNA metabarcoding;    Polymers;    Non-indigenous species;    Microcosm;    Non-indigenous species larvae;    Plastisphere;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.14549

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Marine plastic debris (MPD) are a global threat to marine ecosystems. Among countless ecosystem impacts, MPD can serve as a vector for marine ‘hitchhikers’ by facilitating transport and subsequent spread of unwanted pests and pathogens. The transport and spread of these non-indigenous species (NIS) can have substantial impacts on native biodiversity, ecosystem services/functions and hence, important economic consequences. Over the past decade, increasing research interest has been directed towards the characterization of biological communities colonizing plastic debris, the so called Plastisphere. Despite remarkable advances in this field, little is known regarding the recruitment patterns of NIS larvae and propagules on MPD, and the factors influencing these patterns. To address this knowledge gap, we used custom-made bioassay chambers and ran four consecutive bioassays to compare the settlement patterns of four distinct model biofouling organisms’ larvae, including the three notorious invaders Crassostrea gigas, Ciona savignyi and Mytilus galloprovincialis, along with one sessile macro-invertebrate Spirobranchus cariniferus, on three different types of polymers, namely Low-Linear Density Polyethylene (LLDPE), Polylactic Acid (PLA), Nylon-6, and a glass control. Control bioassay chambers were included to investigate the microbial community composition colonizing the different substrates using 16S rRNA metabarcoding. We observed species-specific settlement patterns, with larvae aggregating on different locations on the substrates. Furthermore, our results revealed that C. savignyi and S. cariniferus generally favoured Nylon and PLA, whereas no specific preferences were observed for C. gigas and M. galloprovincialis. We did not detect significant differences in bacterial community composition between the tested substrates. Taken together, our results highlight the complexity of interactions between NIS larvae and plastic polymers. We conclude that several factors and their potential interactions influenced the results of this investigation, including: (i) species-specific larval biological traits and ecology; (ii) physical and chemical composition of the substrates; and (iii) biological cues emitted by bacterial biofilm and the level of chemosensitivity of the different NIS larvae. To mitigate the biosecurity risks associated with drifting plastic debris, additional research effort is critical to effectively decipher the mechanisms involved in the recruitment of NIS on MPD.

【 授权许可】

CC BY