Bioassays with Marine and Freshwater Macroorganisms

Hay, Mark E.; Stachowicz, John J.; Cruz‐Rivera, Edwin; Bullard, Stephan; Deal, Michael S.; Lindquist, Niels

doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-5411-0_2

Cited by 81 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 282 publications

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“…Artificial agar-based food was prepared with defined amounts of seaweed powder and supplements of microparticles. The standard food preparation 39 contained 0.9 g of freeze-dried and pestled fine powder of Fucus vesiculosus, which was suspended in 3.5 mL of demineralized water (aqua dem.). Defined amounts of microplastics were added to the Fucus-suspension.…”

Section: ■ Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fate of Microplastics in the Marine Isopod Idotea emarginata

Hämer

Gutow

Köhler

et al. 2014

Environ. Sci. Technol.

248

104

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Plastic pollution is an emerging global threat for marine wildlife. Many species of birds, reptiles, and fishes are directly impaired by plastics as they can get entangled in ropes and drown or they can ingest plastic fragments which, in turn, may clog their stomachs and guts. Microplastics of less than 1 mm can be ingested by small invertebrates, but their fate in the digestive organs and their effects on the animals are yet not well understood. We embedded fluorescent microplastics in artificial agarose-based food and offered the food to marine isopods, Idotea emarginata. The isopods did not distinguish between food with and food without microplastics. Upon ingestion, the microplastics were present in the stomach and in the gut but not in the tubules of the midgut gland which is the principal organ of enzyme-secretion and nutrient resorption. The feces contained the same concentration of microplastics as the food which indicates that no accumulation of microplastics happens during the gut passage. Long-term bioassays of 6 weeks showed no distinct effects of continuous microplastic consumption on mortality, growth, and intermolt duration. I. emarginata are able to prevent intrusion of particles even smaller than 1 μm into the midgut gland which is facilitated by the complex structure of the stomach including a fine filter system. It separates the midgut gland tubules from the stomach and allows only the passage of fluids and chyme. Our results indicate that microplastics, as administered in the experiments, do not clog the digestive organs of isopods and do not have adverse effects on their life history parameters.

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Section: ■ Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fate of Microplastics in the Marine Isopod Idotea emarginata

Hämer

Gutow

Köhler

et al. 2014

Environ. Sci. Technol.

248

104

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“…1 ' 61 These results reinforce the importance of field and laboratory testing against natural herbivores to assess the activities of individual compounds. 65 Moreover, different species of herbivores can respond differently to the same compounds. 1 ' 71 ' 72 For example, cyanobacterial extracts and compounds that effectively deter generalist herbivores 73 ' 74 can stimulate or deter feeding by the specialist sea hare Stylocheilus longicauda depending on their concentration.…”

Section: Macroalgaementioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical mediation of interactions among marine organisms

2004

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“…Organisms were collected in the immediate vicinity of Pickles Reef and Rodriguez Key. predatory fishes (e.g., Thalassoma bifasciatum) that are commonly used in tests of feeding deterrence (36).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This gel was formed into a noodle-like strand, firmed with 0.25 mol/L aqueous CaCl 2 , and cut into individual pellets (for methods see ref. 36). Control pellets were prepared in the same manner, except they lacked slug extract.…”

Section: Structural Elucidation Of Attractantmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine and terrestrial herbivores display convergent chemical ecology despite 400 million years of independent evolution

Rasher

Stout

Engel

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Chemical cues regulate key ecological interactions in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. They are particularly important in terrestrial plant-herbivore interactions, where they mediate both herbivore foraging and plant defense. Although well described for terrestrial interactions, the identity and ecological importance of herbivore foraging cues in marine ecosystems remain unknown. Here we show that the specialist gastropod Elysia tuca hunts its seaweed prey, Halimeda incrassata, by tracking 4-hydroxybenzoic acid to find vegetative prey and the defensive metabolite halimedatetraacetate to find reproductive prey. Foraging cues were predicted to be polar compounds but instead were nonpolar secondary metabolites similar to those used by specialist terrestrial insects. Tracking halimedatetraacetate enables Elysia to increase in abundance by 12-to 18-fold on reproductive Halimeda, despite reproduction in Halimeda being rare and lasting for only ∼36 h. Elysia swarm to reproductive Halimeda where they consume the alga's gametes, which are resource rich but are chemically defended from most consumers. Elysia sequester functional chloroplasts and halimedatetraacetate from Halimeda to become photosynthetic and chemically defended. Feeding by Elysia suppresses the growth of vegetative Halimeda by ∼50%. Halimeda responds by dropping branches occupied by Elysia, apparently to prevent fungal infection associated with Elysia feeding. Elysia is remarkably similar to some terrestrial insects, not only in its hunting strategy, but also its feeding method, defense tactics, and effects on prey behavior and performance. Such striking parallels indicate that specialist herbivores in marine and terrestrial systems can evolve convergent ecological strategies despite 400 million years of independent evolution in vastly different habitats.C hemical cues and signals govern the processes that shape species demography, community structure, and ecosystem function in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. However, the chemicals regulating these processes are better known for terrestrial systems, especially with regard to plant-herbivore interactions (1, 2). Terrestrial insect herbivores, most of which are trophic specialists (3), commonly locate prey by tracking plant volatiles (4). In response, plants induce chemical defenses both to reduce herbivory and to limit the spread of pathogens introduced by herbivore feeding (5); some also release volatile compounds that attract predators of their herbivores (6, 7). These volatile compounds involved in insect foraging and plant defense are well described; generally, they are nonpolar secondary compounds (or blends of compounds) that are plantspecific. In contrast, few herbivores in marine ecosystems are trophic specialists (8), and whether they use chemical cues to locate their prey remains poorly understood (9, 10). The identities of such foraging cues are unknown but are predicted to be polar compounds that diffuse readily through water (9, 10).Halimeda incrassata is the dominant seaweed within ...

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Bioassays with Marine and Freshwater Macroorganisms

Cited by 81 publications

References 282 publications

Fate of Microplastics in the Marine Isopod Idotea emarginata

Fate of Microplastics in the Marine Isopod Idotea emarginata

Chemical mediation of interactions among marine organisms

Marine and terrestrial herbivores display convergent chemical ecology despite 400 million years of independent evolution

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