Title :

Lack of behavioral effect of surgical mask leachate on the Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus: Implications for invasion success in polluted coastal waters

Author(s) :

Delaeter, Camille [Auteur]
Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187 [LOG]
Spilmont, Nicolas [Auteur]
Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187 [LOG]
Delleuze, Mélanie [Auteur]
Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187 [LOG]
Seuront, Laurent [Auteur]
Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187 [LOG]

Journal title :

Science of the Total Environment

Pages :

164683

Publisher :

Elsevier

Publication date :

2023

ISSN :

0048-9697

English abstract : [en]

The COVID-19 pandemic generated a new source of plastic mass pollution, i.e. surgical masks, that preferentially accumulatein intertidal environments. Made of polymers, surgical masks are likely to leach additives and ...
Show more >The COVID-19 pandemic generated a new source of plastic mass pollution, i.e. surgical masks, that preferentially accumulatein intertidal environments. Made of polymers, surgical masks are likely to leach additives and impact localintertidal fauna. As typical endpoints of complex developmental and physiological functions, behavioral propertiesare non-invasive key variables that are particularly studied in ecotoxicological and pharmacological studies, buthave, first and foremost, adaptive ecological significance. In an era of ever-growing plastic pollution, this study focusedon anxiety behaviors, i.e. startle response, scototaxis (i.e. preference for dark or light areas), thigmotaxis (i.e. preferencefor moving toward or away from physical barriers), vigilance and level of activity, of the invasive shore crabHemigrapsus sanguineus in response to leachate from surgical masks. We first showed that in the absence of mask leachatesH. sanguineus is characterized by a short startle time, a positive scototaxis, a strong positive thigmotaxis, and anacute vigilance behavior. Specifically, a significantly higher level of activity was observed in white areas, in contrastto the lack of significant differences observed in black areas. Noticeably, the anxiety behaviors of H. sanguineusdid not significantly differ after a 6-h exposure to leachate solutions of masks incubated in seawater for 6, 12, 24,48 and 96 h. In addition, our results were consistently characterized by a high inter-individual variability. This specificfeature is discussed as an adaptive behavioral trait,which – through the observed high behavioral flexibility – increasesH. sanguineus resilience to contaminant exposures and ultimately contribute to its invasion success inanthropogenically-impacted environments.Show less >

Language :

Anglais

Peer reviewed article :

Oui

Audience :

Internationale

Popular science :

Non

Collections :

• Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187

Source :

Harvested from HAL