Microplastic potentiates Chlorpyrifos toxicity to the fresh water Cladoceran, Macrothrix rosea (Jurine, 1820)
1*Kumar Rajan and 1Nisha Kumari
1Ecosystem Ecology Research Unit, Department of Environmental Science, School of Earth, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya-824236 (India) *(e-mail: rajankumar229@gmail.com)
ABSTRACT
Microplastics (MP) are ubiquitous pollutants of environmental concern partly due to plastics ability to sorb and transport chemical pollutants from their surrounding environment. The impact of this “vector effect is raising concern as to their role in the movement of these pollutants through the food chain is required to be adequately addressed. In this study, effects of soaked polyethylene microplastic (PEMP) in chlorpyriphos (a commonly used pesticide in agricultural) were assessed on the fresh water cladoceran Macrothrix rosea (Jurine, 1820). The animals were exposed to individual MP concentrations (25, 100, 200 and 1000 particle ml-1), chlorpyrifos concentrations (0.001 to 1 μgL-1), and soaked MPs (100 particle ml-1) in chlorpyrifos at similar concentrations. Results showed MP had no mortality, however, significant reduction in population growth rate at higher concentration (1000 MP ml-1) were observed in M. rosea. The organism exposed in soaked MP had higher mortality then in chlorpyrifos concentrations after 48 hr. These findings indicated that MP potentiates the toxicity of chlorpyriphos in M. rosea. This investigation provided evidence toward the interaction between plastics and Persistant Organic Pollutants (POPs) when addressing the environmental importance of the vector effect in areas with high concentrations of microplastics and pesticides.