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Abstract
<p class="first" id="d13994827e77">Toxicities of microplastics (MPs) on aquatic organisms
have been widely investigated
often by using white or transparent MPs. However, various colored MPs scatter in the
real aquatic environment. Here we investigated four colored MPs' effects on Scenedesmus
obliquus algal growth first. Under the light condition, algal growth increased initially
due to hormesis stimulation and then decreased gradually at higher MP concentrations.
Green colored MPs exhibited the lowest inhibition effect, probably due to their resemblance
to algae; white MPs inhibited the algal growth significantly, which was attributed
to the presence of ethanol. Turbulence condition seemed to diminish algal growth differences
among groups, but it led to slight oxidative stress. Furthermore, we also tested MP
effects on Daphnia magna feeding ability. Results indicated that daphnids were probably
not able to distinguish colored MPs from algae. But their algae ingestion amounts
increased when MPs reached to 40% of algal cells, probably because daphnids could
widen their filtering gapes when food quality decreases. However, this phenomenon
did not last until the 3rd day, as the agglomeration of MPs and algae made them settle
down. Overall, our results highlighted the color may alter some MP effects and is
necessary to be considered in (eco)toxicological studies.
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