Investigating Trophic Exposure to Marine Microplastics and Plasticizers in a Sentinel Species and the Implications for Seafood Safety

研究哨兵物种对海洋微塑料和增塑剂的营养暴露及其对海鲜安全的影响

• 批准号: 10439010
• 负责人: Leslie B. Hart
• 金额: $ 44.72万
• 依托单位: COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-06-16 至 2025-06-15
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10439010
• 关键词: Address; Biology; Biometry; Breast Cancer Risk Factor; Caliber; Characteristics; Color; Communication; Communities; Consumption; Detection; Dolphins; Endocrine Disruptors; Endocrine disruption; Environmental Health; Environmental Pollution; Epidemiology; Exposure to; Fishes; Food Webs; Goals; Health; Human; Infertility; Inflammation; Ingestion; International; Intervention; Knowledge; Laboratories; Lead; Longevity; Metabolic; Metabolism; Monitor; Muscle; Oceans; Oral; Organism; Oxidative Stress; Particle Size; Plasticizers; Plastics; Pollution; Polymers; Population; Pregnancy Outcome; Public Health; Publications; Research; Resources; Risk; Safety; Sampling; Scientist; Seafood; Sentinel; Source; Stomach; Students; Testing; Time; Tissues; Tursiops; Urine; Work; Xenobiotics; contaminated seafood; exposed human population; gastrointestinal; geographic difference; geographic disparity; hydrology; improved; innovation; land use; organ growth; particle; phthalates; pollutant; reproductive organ; scientific literacy; skills; spatiotemporal; symposium; undergraduate research; undergraduate research experience; undergraduate student; urinary

Project Summary/Abstract This proposed study will expose undergraduate students to hands-on, rigorous research that explores the intersections of oceans, wildlife, and human health. Specifically, students will participate in research to understand the risk of exposure to microplastics and plasticizers (i.e., phthalates) from contaminated seafood. For decades, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have been used as sentinels of marine pollution risks for coastal communities that rely on seafood. Due to the recent detection of prevalent phthalate exposure in coastal bottlenose dolphins, a sentinel-species approach will be used to address three specific aims: 1) assess the potential for trophic exposure to microplastics; 2) determine if phthalate exposure is an indicator of microplastic exposure; and 3) evaluate spatiotemporal differences in phthalate exposure. This undergraduate research experience will provide an opportunity for students to engage in innovative studies of a federally-protected species, participate in ecotoxicological analyses in state-of-the-art laboratories, develop marketable statistical skills, and enhance their scientific communication through contributions to publications and presentations. Students will also be exposed to a broad range of biomedical fields as they will work closely with scientists with expertise in epidemiology, biostatistics, biology and conservation, ecotoxicology, and environmental health. The oceans contain trillions of plastic particles, mostly microplastics (i.e., particles < 5 mm diameter; approximately 93% of particles), which have been detected in organisms at all levels of the marine food web. These discoveries suggest that seafood safety is being threatened and public health compromised, as microplastic ingestion can lead to gastrointestinal inflammation, altered metabolism, and oxidative stress. Plastics can also leach endocrine-disrupting phthalates, which are associated with infertility, abnormal reproductive organ development, increased breast cancer risk, and poor pregnancy outcomes. The long-term goal of this study is to examine if microplastic-contaminated seafood could be an additional source of human exposure to harmful xenobiotics, and if this exposure varies spatiotemporally. Study aims will be addressed via serial cross-sectional sampling of free-ranging dolphins and their preferred prey in Sarasota Bay, FL. For Aim 1, microplastics will be characterized in dolphin gastric and fecal samples, as well as fish muscle and gastrointestinal tissues. Similarities in particle size, type, and polymer composition will suggest trophic exposure. For Aim 2, phthalate metabolites will be quantified in dolphin urine and fish metabolic tissues to examine correlations with ingested microplastics quantities from Aim 1. For Aim 3, urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations will be compared between two distinct dolphin populations (Sarasota Bay, FL; Barataria Bay, LA) and across time (2010-2024) to understand spatiotemporal differences in exposure risk. Findings from this study will help to evaluate the potential of contaminated seafood as an additional source of microplastic and phthalate exposure for humans, as well as inform intervention and risk communication needs regarding seafood safety.

项目总结/摘要 这项拟议的研究将让本科生参与实践、严格的研究，探索 海洋、野生动物和人类健康的交叉点。具体而言，学生将参与研究， 了解暴露于微塑料和增塑剂的风险（即，邻苯二甲酸盐）。 几十年来，短吻海豚（Tursiops truncatus）一直被用作海洋污染风险的哨兵， 依赖海产品的沿海社区。由于最近在沿海地区发现了普遍的邻苯二甲酸酯暴露， 海豚，哨兵物种的方法将用于解决三个具体目标：1）评估 微塑料营养暴露的可能性; 2）确定邻苯二甲酸酯暴露是否是微塑料的指标 暴露;和3）评价邻苯二甲酸酯暴露的时空差异。这项本科生研究 经验将为学生提供一个机会，从事联邦保护的创新研究， 物种，在最先进的实验室参与生态毒理学分析，开发可销售的统计数据， 通过对出版物和演讲的贡献，加强他们的科学交流。 学生还将接触到广泛的生物医学领域，因为他们将与科学家密切合作， 流行病学、生物统计学、生物学和保护、生态毒理学和环境卫生方面的专业知识。 海洋中含有数万亿的塑料颗粒，其中大部分是微塑料（即，颗粒直径< 5 mm; 在海洋食物网的各个层次的生物体中都检测到了这种物质。 这些发现表明，海鲜安全正受到威胁，公共卫生受到损害， 微塑料摄入可导致胃肠炎症、代谢改变和氧化应激。 塑料也可以浸出内分泌干扰邻苯二甲酸酯，这是与不孕不育，异常 生殖器官发育、乳腺癌风险增加和妊娠结局不良。长期 这项研究的目的是研究微塑料污染的海鲜是否可能成为人类的另一个来源。 暴露于有害的外源性物质，以及这种暴露是否在时空上变化。研究目的将通过以下方式解决： 佛罗里达州萨拉索塔湾自由放养海豚及其首选猎物的连续横断面取样。对于目标1， 微塑料将在海豚的胃和粪便样本，以及鱼的肌肉和 胃肠道组织颗粒大小、类型和聚合物组成的相似性表明营养暴露。 对于目标2，将对海豚尿液和鱼类代谢组织中的邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物进行定量， 与目标1中摄入的微塑料量的相关性。对于目标3，尿邻苯二甲酸酯代谢物 将在两个不同的海豚种群（萨拉索塔湾，佛罗里达州;巴拉塔里亚湾，洛杉矶）之间比较浓度 以及不同时期（2010-2024年）的数据，以了解接触风险的时空差异。从这个研究结果 将有助于评估受污染的海鲜作为微塑料和邻苯二甲酸酯的额外来源的潜力 此外，还需要对人类的接触情况进行评估，并就海产食品安全问题进行知情干预和风险沟通。