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How does the presence of macroplastic impact the reproductive behaviour and fecundity of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)? / ALEXANDRA CHAND

Swansea University Author: ALEXANDRA CHAND

  • E-Thesis – open access under embargo until: 11th June 2025

Abstract

Plastic pollution is emerging as a growing environmental problem worldwide, with plastic waste entering our seas and rivers at an unprecedented rate. However, most plastic waste is stored in river systems, with an estimated influx of 0.8 million tonnes entering 84% of rivers worldwide, a number that...

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Published: Swansea, Wales, UK 2024
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Master of Research
Degree name: MRes
Supervisor: Esteban, Nicole ; Pope, Edward
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66941
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first_indexed 2024-07-04T14:08:32Z
last_indexed 2024-07-04T14:08:32Z
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spelling v2 66941 2024-07-04 How does the presence of macroplastic impact the reproductive behaviour and fecundity of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)? 2cbd55adb98c5193aa6b1f404a32719d ALEXANDRA CHAND ALEXANDRA CHAND true false 2024-07-04 Plastic pollution is emerging as a growing environmental problem worldwide, with plastic waste entering our seas and rivers at an unprecedented rate. However, most plastic waste is stored in river systems, with an estimated influx of 0.8 million tonnes entering 84% of rivers worldwide, a number that is expected to triple by 2060. The current research into the impacts of macroplastics on freshwater species mainly looks at threats such as ingestion and entanglement, however this study is one of the first to look at the impacts on reproductive behaviours and fecundity. A change in reproductive behaviours can impact spawning success, thus with plastic being deposited on the bottom sediment where most species forage and spawn, this can alter the distribution of species. A consistent change in behaviours over a prolonged period of time can be inherited by offspring as personality traits. This suggests that as the plastic problem grows, future generations will have adapted to the changing environment by inheriting the most resilient personality traits through behavioural selection. Here we show that zebrafish (Danio rerio) exhibited changes in their reproductive behaviours in the presence of macroplastic, with benthic plastic having the most negative impact on behaviour and egg survival rates. Individuals presenting bold behavioural syndromes reproduced more successfully and had a higher egg survival rate compared to individuals displaying timid behaviours, which implicates future natural selection that favours bolder fish. This research suggests that freshwater ecosystems with a higher amount of macroplastic pollution will see detrimental impacts to population structure of the species inhabiting these environments. E-Thesis Swansea, Wales, UK Zebrafish, Plastic pollution, Personality, Behaviour, Fecundity 11 6 2024 2024-06-11 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Esteban, Nicole ; Pope, Edward Master of Research MRes 2024-07-04T15:34:07.4264884 2024-07-04T14:27:28.3997740 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences ALEXANDRA CHAND 1 Under embargo Under embargo 2024-07-04T15:27:49.1606605 Output 1152286 application/pdf E-Thesis – open access true 2025-06-11T00:00:00.0000000 Copyright: The Author, Alexandra Chand, 2024. true eng
title How does the presence of macroplastic impact the reproductive behaviour and fecundity of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)?
spellingShingle How does the presence of macroplastic impact the reproductive behaviour and fecundity of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)?
ALEXANDRA CHAND
title_short How does the presence of macroplastic impact the reproductive behaviour and fecundity of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)?
title_full How does the presence of macroplastic impact the reproductive behaviour and fecundity of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)?
title_fullStr How does the presence of macroplastic impact the reproductive behaviour and fecundity of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)?
title_full_unstemmed How does the presence of macroplastic impact the reproductive behaviour and fecundity of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)?
title_sort How does the presence of macroplastic impact the reproductive behaviour and fecundity of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)?
author_id_str_mv 2cbd55adb98c5193aa6b1f404a32719d
author_id_fullname_str_mv 2cbd55adb98c5193aa6b1f404a32719d_***_ALEXANDRA CHAND
author ALEXANDRA CHAND
author2 ALEXANDRA CHAND
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2024
institution Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 0
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description Plastic pollution is emerging as a growing environmental problem worldwide, with plastic waste entering our seas and rivers at an unprecedented rate. However, most plastic waste is stored in river systems, with an estimated influx of 0.8 million tonnes entering 84% of rivers worldwide, a number that is expected to triple by 2060. The current research into the impacts of macroplastics on freshwater species mainly looks at threats such as ingestion and entanglement, however this study is one of the first to look at the impacts on reproductive behaviours and fecundity. A change in reproductive behaviours can impact spawning success, thus with plastic being deposited on the bottom sediment where most species forage and spawn, this can alter the distribution of species. A consistent change in behaviours over a prolonged period of time can be inherited by offspring as personality traits. This suggests that as the plastic problem grows, future generations will have adapted to the changing environment by inheriting the most resilient personality traits through behavioural selection. Here we show that zebrafish (Danio rerio) exhibited changes in their reproductive behaviours in the presence of macroplastic, with benthic plastic having the most negative impact on behaviour and egg survival rates. Individuals presenting bold behavioural syndromes reproduced more successfully and had a higher egg survival rate compared to individuals displaying timid behaviours, which implicates future natural selection that favours bolder fish. This research suggests that freshwater ecosystems with a higher amount of macroplastic pollution will see detrimental impacts to population structure of the species inhabiting these environments.
published_date 2024-06-11T15:34:06Z
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score 11.016235

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