Water-soluble synthetic polymers (WSSP) are found in many everyday products. What the consequences are when these plastics enter rivers, lakes and oceans are still largely unexplored. A team from the University of Bayreuth has now systematically studied the effects on water fleas of the species Daphnia magna for the first time.
The polymers selected for testing significantly alter the body size and reproduction of animals in some cases. The research, published in Total Environmental Scienceshows that water-soluble polymers could have consequences on the biodiversity and food chains of aquatic ecosystems that should not be underestimated.
Textiles, paints, paper, adhesives, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals are just a few examples of industrial products containing water-soluble synthetic polymers (WSSP). Additionally, WSSPs are used in wastewater treatment and stormwater treatment.
Nevertheless, little is known about their concentrations in the environment. They are not visible here, unlike plastic waste and microplastic particles. However, the presence of WSSP in rivers, lakes and other freshwater deposits has been demonstrated in various studies.
Researchers from CRC 1375 “Microplastics” and the International Training Network (ITN) “LimnoPlast” from the University of Bayreuth have now selected five commercially available polymers that are frequently used in industry for production. Using biological and chemical methods, they studied how water fleas of the species Daphnia magna react to WSSP.
In ecological research, this species serves as a model organism on which interactions between potential pollutants and living organisms can be easily observed. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), polyacrylic acid (PAA), polyethylene glycol ( PEG) and polyethylene oxide (PEO).
“Water fleas serve a key ecological function in many freshwater lakes: they have a significant impact on the amount of available phytoplankton, which forms the basis of food chains in the lakes. When water fleas are damaged by water-soluble polymers, the consequences can extend to higher levels of the food chain, affecting the entire food web of an ecosystem,” says Prof. Dr. Christian Laforsch, spokesperson for CRC Microplastics and the ITN “LimnoPlast”, which coordinated the new interdisciplinary study.
As the research results show, WSSPs do not immediately endanger the lives of water fleas. Even their heart rate remains constant when they live for a long time in WSSP-enriched water.
This is a clear indication that the polymers do not cause acute physiological changes. However, the reproductive behavior of animals changes in two ways: reproductive cycles become longer, so water fleas only produce offspring at longer intervals. In addition, the number of offspring produced per cycle decreases.
This could have an impact on population growth and therefore on the entire food web. In addition, the body size of daphnia also changes under the influence of WSSP.
“Research results to date do not yet provide an accurate understanding of the causal effects that led to the significant changes in body size and reproduction in water fleas. Measurements suggest that a higher molecular weight of WSSP could be associated with increased toxicity.This is further evidence of the relevance of interdisciplinary research involving cooperation between environmental science and polymer chemistry,” says the first author of the new study, the PhD student from Bayreuth Simona Mondellini M.Sc.
Research into the ecological effects of synthetic water-soluble polymers is still in its infancy in many respects. However, the results of the new study on the model organism Daphnia magna illustrate the importance of this research topic.
“The effects of potential contaminants on the reproduction and body size of organisms are now established parameters in ecotoxicology. If water fleas change in these respects under the influence of commercial WSSPs used in many industries, this should be the l “opportunity for further targeted studies. After all, the toxic effects of pollutants that spread through the environment usually affect not only individual organisms, but also larger populations and widely branching food webs – and thus also the viability and the functionality of entire ecosystems,” explains Professor Christian Laforsch.
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Simona Mondellini et al, Beyond microplastics: water-soluble synthetic polymers exert sublethal adverse effects on the freshwater water flea Daphnia magna, Total Environmental Science (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157608
Provided by the University of Bayreuth
Quote: A case study uncovers the ecological impact of water-soluble polymers (2022, October 25) Retrieved October 25, 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-10-case-ecological-impact-water-soluble-polymers .html
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