Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
REGIONAL STUDIES IN MARINE SCIENCE, cilt.43, ss.1-9, 2021 (SCI-Expanded)
Multi-day experiments were carried out with two Marmara Sea calanoid copepod species: Acartia
clausi and Centropages typicus, to assess the possible role of the type of feeding on the consumption
of microplastics and its influence on the rate of energy metabolism of these species. In a mixture of
microplastic beads (6 μm diameter) and algae Rhodomonas salina (5–10 μm size range) with equal
concentrations of about 5000 cells/beads mL −1 the ambush feeder A. clausi consumed almost 5 times
less microplastic 858.8 ± 294.1 beads ind−1 day−1 than the cruising feeder C. typicus and halved its
consumption of microplastics alone, while C. typicus, on the contrary, increased its consumption rate
of pure microplastics to 20237.4 ± 7020.41 beads ind−1 day−1. Both types of reaction to microplastics
lead to a decrease in the respiratory rates of the copepods. During the 5 days of maintenance on
a solely microplastic diet, the respiration rates of A. clausi and C. typicus decreased 2.2 and 3.4
times, respectively, due to a decrease in the energy spent on motor activity, whilst maintaining basal
metabolic energy. It has been shown that in A. clausi, consuming microplastics, a decrease in respiration
rate occurs in the same way as in individuals starving in filtered water. A more rapid respiration rate
decrease in Centropages typicus consuming microplastics may be due to the greater energy expenditure
on microplastic beads capture and egestion via fecal pellets. Acartia clausi seems to exhibit a better
strategy in dealing with the adverse consequences of microplastics consumption in comparison to
Centropages typicus.