Mind your tyres: The ecotoxicological impact of urban sediments on an aquatic organism

The Science of The Total Environment, vol. 951, pp. 175597

Abstract

The presence of tyre and road wear particles (TRWP) in the environment is an underestimated threat due to their potential impact on ecosystems and human health. However, their mode of action and potential impacts on aquatic ecosystems remain largely unknown. In the present study, we adopted a sediment exposure scenario to investigate the influence of sediment coming from an urban runoff sedimentation basin on the life cycle of Chironomus riparius. Targeted broad-spectrum chemical analysis helped to characterise the urban sediments and confirmed the significant contribution of contaminants from traffic (e.g. tyre wear contribution, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons [PAHs], metals, tyre rubber additives). First-stage chironomid larvae were subjected to increasing concentrations of urban whole sediment. The results showed that exposure to this urban sediment influenced all measured endpoints. In vivo quantification of ROS showed that larvae exposed to the lowest concentration of contaminated sediment exhibited increased fluorescence. The contaminated sediment conditions increased mortality by almost 30 %, but this effect was surprisingly not concentration-dependent. Fertility decreased significantly and concentration-dependently. The results of the Mean Emergence Time (EmT50) and larval size showed an optimality curve. Furthermore, as a consequence of the effects on fitness, the Population Growth Rate (PGR) exhibited a significant decrease, which was concentration-dependent. Therefore, after a single generation, PGR calculation can be adopted as a sensitive tool to monitor pollution caused by complex matrices, i.e. composed of several contaminants. Our research highlights the importance of effective management of road runoff and underlines the need for further investigation to better understand the toxicity of TRWPs.

Authors 6

1. Lorenzo Rigano

   LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics · Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Georg-Voigt-Str. 14-16, D-60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; LOEWE Centre of Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Georg-Voigt-Str. 14-16, D-60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Electronic address: lorenzo.rigano@senckenberg.de

2. Markus Schmitz

   Goethe University Frankfurt

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Evolutionary Ecology & Environmental Toxicology (E3T), Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Faculty 15 Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany

3. Henner Hollert

   Goethe University Frankfurt · LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics · Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre

   Affiliation as printed

   LOEWE Centre of Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Georg-Voigt-Str. 14-16, D-60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Department of Evolutionary Ecology & Environmental Toxicology (E3T), Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Faculty 15 Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany

4. Volker Linnemann Aachen Institute for Environmental Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Environmental Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

5. Martin Krayer Von Krauss

   Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Exposure Science, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany

6. Markus Pfenninger

   Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz · LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics · Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Georg-Voigt-Str. 14-16, D-60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; LOEWE Centre of Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Georg-Voigt-Str. 14-16, D-60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Institute for Molecular and Organismic Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University, Johann-Joachim-Becker-Weg 7, D-55128 Mainz, Germany