he larvae were subsequently iltered
from the solution and examined under a
microscope. he distribution and movement
of the nanoplastics were monitored by
examining the luorescence from the particles
present within the larvae over time.
“Our results showed that ater exposing
the barnacle larvae to nanoplastics in both
treatments, the larvae had not only ingested
the plastic particles, but the tiny particles were
found to be distributed throughout the bodies
of the larvae,” said Ms Serina Lee from the
Tropical Marine Science Institute at NUS.
Even though the barnacles’ natural waste
removal pathways of moulting and excretion
resulted in some removal of the nanoplastics,
the team detected the continued presence of
nanoplastics inside the barnacles throughout
their growth until they reached adulthood.
“Barnacles may be at the lower levels of
the food chain, but what they consume will
be transferred to the organisms that eat them.
In addition, plastics are capable of absorbing
pollutants and chemicals from the water. hese
toxins may be transferred to the organisms if
the particles of plastics are consumed, and can
cause further damage to marine ecosystems
and human health,” said marine biologist
Dr Neo Mei Lin from the Tropical Marine
Science Institute at NUS.
he team’s research indings were irst
published online in the journalACS Sustainable
Chemistry & Engineeringin March 2018. he
study was funded under the Marine Science
Research and Development Programme of the
National Research Foundation Singapore.
he NUS research team seeks to further
their understanding of the translocation of
nanoparticles within the marine organisms
and potential pathways of transfer in the
marine ecosystem.
“he life span and fate of plastic waste
materials in (the) marine environment is a big
concern at the moment owing to the
large amounts of plastic waste and its
potential impact on (the) marine ecosystem
and food security around the world. he
team would like to explore such topics in
the near future and possibly (...) come up
with pathways to address such problems,”
explained Associate Professor Suresh
Valiyaveetil from the Department of
Chemistry at the NUS Faculty of Science,
who co-supervised the research. agThis article is condensed from the press release
“Nanoplastics accumulate in marine organisms and
may pose harm to aquatic food chains”, published
May 31, 2018“Barnacles may be at the
lower levels of the food chain,
but what they consume
will be transferred to the
organisms that eat them”PHOTO © NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPOREwhy use
barnacle
larvae?Juvenile barnacles are
transparent. When
fed with fluorescent
nanoplastics, the
particles can be viewed
under a fluorescence
microscopeBarnacles have a
short life cycle. This
makes it easy to
track and visualise
the movement of
nanoplastics in their
bodies within a short
period of time