Plastic Leachates Disproportionately Impair Aquatic Animals: A Multifactor, Multieffect, and Multilevel Meta-analytic...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Ecotoxicology
• Aquatic Toxicology

Background:

• Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) toxicity is known, but research on plastic leachates (PLs) is limited.
• PLs are chemical mixtures released from plastics, posing a distinct environmental risk to aquatic ecosystems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically evaluate the toxicity of PLs to aquatic animals using a meta-analytic model.
• To identify key factors influencing PL toxicity across various biological and environmental parameters.

Main Methods:

• Developed a multifactor, multieffect, and multilevel meta-analytic model (3M).
• Analyzed six biochemical functions (survival, growth, development, reproduction, behavior, physiology) in aquatic animals.
• Assessed 20 influencing factors, including plastic characteristics, environmental conditions, and animal traits.

Main Results:

• PLs significantly impaired aquatic animals, causing an overall -28% effect on survival, 10% on growth, -30% on development, and -13% on reproduction.
• Toxicity increased with plastic size and concentration.
• Polymer type, biodegradability, aging, and leaching conditions modulated PL toxicity.
• Marine species and primary consumers exhibited higher sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• PLs pose a significant threat to aquatic organisms, affecting critical life stages.
• Understanding the influence of various factors is crucial for assessing PL risks.
• Future research should focus on environmentally relevant conditions and standardized methodologies to inform mitigation strategies.