Modelling mussel (<i>Mytilus spp.</i>) microplastic accumulation
<p>Microplastics (MPs) are a contaminant of growing concern due to their widespread distribution and interactions with marine species, such as filter feeders. To investigate the MPs accumulation in wild and cultured mussels, a dynamic energy budget (DEB) model was developed and validated with...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Ocean Science |
| Online Access: | https://os.copernicus.org/articles/16/927/2020/os-16-927-2020.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>Microplastics (MPs) are a contaminant of growing concern due to
their widespread distribution and interactions with marine species, such as
filter feeders. To investigate the MPs accumulation in wild and cultured
mussels, a dynamic energy budget (DEB) model was developed and validated
with the available field data of <i>Mytilus edulis</i> (<i>M. edulis</i>, wild) from the North Sea and <i>Mytilus galloprovincialis</i> (<i>M. galloprovincialis</i>,
cultured) from the northern Ionian Sea. Towards a generic DEB model, the
site-specific model parameter, half-saturation coefficient (<span class="inline-formula"><i>X</i><sub><i>k</i></sub></span>), was
applied as a power function of food density for the cultured mussel, while
for the wild mussel it was calibrated to a constant value. The
DEB-accumulation model simulated the uptake and excretion rate of MPs,
taking into account environmental characteristics (temperature and
chlorophyll <span class="inline-formula"><i>a</i></span>). An accumulation of MPs equal to 0.53 particles per individual (fresh tissue mass 1.9 g) and 0.91 particles per individual (fresh tissue mass 3.3 g) was simulated for the wild and
cultured mussel after 4 and 1 years respectively, in agreement with the
field data. The inverse experiments investigating the depuration time of the
wild and cultured mussel in a clean-from-MPs environment showed a 90 %
removal of MPs load after 2.5 and 12 d respectively. Furthermore,
sensitivity tests on model parameters and forcing functions highlighted that
besides MPs concentration, the accumulation is highly dependent on
temperature and chlorophyll <span class="inline-formula"><i>a</i></span> of the surrounding environment. For this
reason, an empirical equation was found, directly relating the environmental
concentration of MPs, with the seawater temperature, chlorophyll <span class="inline-formula"><i>a</i></span>, and the
mussel's soft tissue MPs load.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1812-0784 1812-0792 |