Presenter: Laurent Seuront (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS))

Description:
The emergence and detection of COVID-19 and its subsequent declaration as a pandemic by the World Health Organization has led to an unprecedented global demand for personal protective equipment products. With the intention of moderating down the virus transmission, the use of face covering has led to a dramatic increase in the production of disposable masks worldwide. These masks have been subsequently increasingly found littering beaches, rivers and streets. Disposable face masks are produced from various plastic polymers that are a source of pollution in both terrestrial and aquatic environment. The environmental impact of mask fibers, and the far more pernicious effects of mask leachates, is still an open question. We show that the behavioral traits of keystone marine invertebrates (i.e. gastropods, and copepods), including ecosystem engineers such as the blue mussel Mutilus edulis are significantly affected by the presence of entire disposable masks, their fragments and their leachates. Specifically, we show that the intertidal gastropod Littorina littorea and the blue mussel M. edulis avoid masks and mask fragments, and L. littorina consistently uncontaminated over contaminated substrates. Both species aggregate faster, but form smaller aggregates when exposed to leachate. L. littorea also exhibit signs of neurosensory impairment (i.e. decreased behavioral vigilance and predator avoidance) and neuromuscular impairment (e.g., decrease motility) when exposed to leachate. Male copepods significantly decreased their ability to detect female pheromone trails, and the distance at which males detect female trails significantly decreased in leachate seawater, as well as the accuracy, distances, durations of trail-following, and the subsequent ability of males to find and capture the females. These results further suggest that the current pandemic has unanticipated environmental consequences and influence marine and terrestrial ecosystems in powerful ways.