The Individual and Combined Effects of Microplastics and Acetaminophen on the Heart Rate and Survival of Daphnia magna

Lily ZhangFollow

School Name

Spring Valley High School

Grade Level

10th Grade

Presentation Topic

Environmental Science

Presentation Type

Non-Mentored

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) are a form of plastic pollution created by plastics breaking down into microscopic pieces. Due to their size they are often ingested by marine organisms and can build up inside the tissue and organs of their bodies. The purpose of this study was to explore the combined and individual effects of acetaminophen (APAP) and MPs on Daphnia magna. It was hypothesized that the solution containing both APAP and MPs would have significant effects on the heart rate and survival of the Daphnia magna due to the ability of the MPs to carry more of the APAP into the tissue of the Daphnia. The Daphnia were exposed to four solutions containing spring water and varying presences of APAP and MPs. After five days, the heart rates of the living Daphnia were counted using a microscope and handheld counter, and the number of surviving Daphnia was recorded. The two solutions containing APAP had no surviving Daphnia (100% mortality) excluding outliers, and the control and MPs solutions had 17% and 20% mortality, respectively. A two sample t-test assuming unequal variances was conducted on the heart rates of the control and MPs groups; there was insufficient evidence to support a meaningful difference between the treatment groups. The null hypothesis could not be rejected (t(22)= 1.58, p=0.13), indicating that the microplastics had no effect on the heart rate or mortality of the fleas. Acetaminophen had a significant effect on the survival of the Daphnia with 100% mortality in both solutions.

Location

HSS 214

Start Date

4-2-2022 12:00 PM

Presentation Format

Oral and Written

Group Project

No

COinS
 
Apr 2nd, 12:00 PM

The Individual and Combined Effects of Microplastics and Acetaminophen on the Heart Rate and Survival of Daphnia magna

HSS 214

Microplastics (MPs) are a form of plastic pollution created by plastics breaking down into microscopic pieces. Due to their size they are often ingested by marine organisms and can build up inside the tissue and organs of their bodies. The purpose of this study was to explore the combined and individual effects of acetaminophen (APAP) and MPs on Daphnia magna. It was hypothesized that the solution containing both APAP and MPs would have significant effects on the heart rate and survival of the Daphnia magna due to the ability of the MPs to carry more of the APAP into the tissue of the Daphnia. The Daphnia were exposed to four solutions containing spring water and varying presences of APAP and MPs. After five days, the heart rates of the living Daphnia were counted using a microscope and handheld counter, and the number of surviving Daphnia was recorded. The two solutions containing APAP had no surviving Daphnia (100% mortality) excluding outliers, and the control and MPs solutions had 17% and 20% mortality, respectively. A two sample t-test assuming unequal variances was conducted on the heart rates of the control and MPs groups; there was insufficient evidence to support a meaningful difference between the treatment groups. The null hypothesis could not be rejected (t(22)= 1.58, p=0.13), indicating that the microplastics had no effect on the heart rate or mortality of the fleas. Acetaminophen had a significant effect on the survival of the Daphnia with 100% mortality in both solutions.