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Spatial arrangement of biogenic reefs alters boundary layer characteristics to increase risk of microplastic bioaccumulation

Lim, Hyee Shynn, Fraser, Alex, Knights, Antony M·2020·Environmental Research Letters
DOI 10.1088/1748-9326/ab83ae
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Abstract

Microplastics are now synonymous with human impacts on the environment and as a threat to marine organisms. Numerous taxa are at risk from microplastics including commercially valuable bivalves as seafood, which are also disproportionately important as biogenic reef-forming species that enhance biodiversity such that they are commonly protected under conservation actions. As a sessile filter-feeding organism, bivalves are highly susceptible to microplastic ingestion but despite their socio-economic and ecological importance, no research has been undertaken to assess how a reef’s structural arrangement might affect plastic ingestion. Here, using a series of flume experiments, we examined how change in spatial arrangement of the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis , interacts with different flow speeds to effect retention of microplastic over reef surfaces and ingestion risk by individual mussels. Our results show that clumped spatial arrangements reduce boundary layer velocities, and increase turbulence, boundary layer thickness and plastic retention over reef surfaces under faster flow conditions, increasing plastic ingestion by 3-fold. Our findings suggest that the structural arrangement and rugosity of natural reef structures may create natural sinks of anthropogenic pollution, and species like Mytilus that are also important species for human consumption, while disproportionately susceptible to microplastic pollution, may be useful bioindicators of microplastic pollution.

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Crossref · 10.1088/1748-9326/ab83ae

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Figures

Plate 1. Clustered (left) and randomly (right) arranged Mytilus edulis (n = 32) on a 0.0625m 2 acrylic tile.
Plate 1. Clustered (left) and randomly (right) arranged Mytilus edulis (n = 32) on a 0.0625m 2 acrylic tile.CC-BY · From the PDF
Plate 2 Spherical microplastic (circled in red) shown relative to a 1 mm scale bar. The particle shown above is approximately 360 µ min diameter.
Plate 2 Spherical microplastic (circled in red) shown relative to a 1 mm scale bar. The particle shown above is approximately 360 µ min diameter.CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 2 Distribution of (a) time-averaged horizontal instantaneous velocity (cm s -1 ), (b) time-averaged (log) turbulent kinetic energy (mm 2 s -1 ), (c) standardised plastic particle density over the reef surface, and (d) number of microplastic pieces ingested ( n = 200) by M. edulis individuals under low (8 cm s -1 ) and high (48 cm s -1 ) flow speeds with Mytilus in a clustered or solitary spatial arrangement. Horizontal lines and coding (i.e. i-iv) indicate groupings based on effect size estimation (a)-(c) or posthoc pairwise comparisons (d).
Figure 2 Distribution of (a) time-averaged horizontal instantaneous velocity (cm s -1 ), (b) time-averaged (log) turbulent kinetic energy (mm 2 s -1 ), (c) standardised plastic particle density over the reef surface, and (d) number of microplastic pieces ingested ( n = 200) by M. edulis individuals under low (8 cm s -1 ) and high (48 cm s -1 ) flow speeds with Mytilus in a clustered or solitary spatial arrangement. Horizontal lines and coding (i.e. i-iv) indicate groupings based on effect size estimation (a)-(c) or posthoc pairwise comparisons (d).CC-BY · From the PDF
Figure 3 Mean 2-D spatial variation in time-averaged velocity (mean cm s -1 per 20 s of PTV) over clustered and randomly arranged mussel reefs under slow (8 cm s -1 ) and fast (48 cm s -1 ) flow regimes. Images show mean time-averaged velocity based on three replicate trials per spatial arrangement per flow speed combination. X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) axes show horizontal and vertical distance (cm) and pixel resolution = 4.85 pixels/cm 2 . The 5 cm s -1 isobar is shown and the distribution of y -axis values for that isobar for all values of x are shown using boxplots. Colours indicate velocity and are standardised across all four images.
Figure 3 Mean 2-D spatial variation in time-averaged velocity (mean cm s -1 per 20 s of PTV) over clustered and randomly arranged mussel reefs under slow (8 cm s -1 ) and fast (48 cm s -1 ) flow regimes. Images show mean time-averaged velocity based on three replicate trials per spatial arrangement per flow speed combination. X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) axes show horizontal and vertical distance (cm) and pixel resolution = 4.85 pixels/cm 2 . The 5 cm s -1 isobar is shown and the distribution of y -axis values for that isobar for all values of x are shown using boxplots. Colours indicate velocity and are standardised across all four images.CC-BY · From the PDF

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Metadata

Authors
Lim, H. S., Fraser, A., & Knights, A. M.
Venue
Environmental Research Letters
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Published
2020-05-29
Volume
15
Issue
6
Pages
064024
ISSN
1748-9326
DOI
10.1088/1748-9326/ab83ae
Cited by
36
References
3
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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Spatial arrangement of biogenic reefs alters boundary layer characteristics to increase risk of microplastic bioaccumulation. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1088/1748-9326/ab83ae
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Lim, H. S., Fraser, A., & Knights, A. M. (2020). Spatial arrangement of biogenic reefs alters boundary layer characteristics to increase risk of microplastic bioaccumulation. Environmental Research Letters. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab83ae