Study identifies risks of nanoplastic and metal pollutants to freshwater ecosystems
According to the researchers, freshwaters are particularly vulnerable to contaminants because they act as the primary interface between terrestrial and aquatic compartments.
Translation by Diana Taborda
An international study led by a research team from the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC), in collaboration with Harcourt Butler Technical University (India) and Konkuk University (South Korea), has identified the main risks that co-contamination by nanoplastics and metals pose to freshwater ecosystems.
The study “Does functionalised nanoplastics modulate the cellular and physiological responses of aquatic fungi to metals?”, was published in the journal Environmental Pollution, and presents the possible impacts of this co-contamination of fresh waters at environmental realistic concentrations, and also concludes that the functionalisation of nanoplastics facilitates the adsorption of metals, thus modulating the impacts caused by metals on aquatic fungi.
“As the co-existence of pollutants has become an unavoidable reality, there has been a growing interest in recent years in understanding their combined effects on organisms. Nanoplastics are fragments of plastic less than 1000 nanometres (nm) in size, roughly the size of a virus, and are widely used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and cleaning industries”, explains Juliana Barros, first author of the study and a PhD student in Biosciences at FCTUC, supervised by Seena Sahadevan, co-author and researcher at the Centre for Marine and Environmental Sciences (MARE) and the Aquatic Research Network (ARNET) of the Department of Life Sciences (DCV-FCTUC).
The two researchers say that freshwaters are particularly vulnerable to contaminants because they are the primary interface between terrestrial and aquatic compartments, and are therefore often more susceptible than other compartments to the adverse effects of emerging contaminants.
The research team adds, “Mining activities contribute to the occurrence of metals in freshwater systems, resulting in the coexistence of metals with emerging contaminants such as nanoplastics. In small streams, the decomposition of organic matter is a critical process responsible for the transfer of energy and nutrients through the trophic levels of the food chain. Aquatic hyphomycetes (freshwater fungi) are the main mediators of this process. Aquatic hyphomycetes (freshwater fungi) are the main mediators of this process. They are able to break down unwanted compounds in leaf litter, improving its palatability and nutritional quality for consumption by invertebrates”.
The scientific article is available here.