Plastic Pollution Perturbs Oyster Offspring
塑料污染影响蚝类繁衍
Laboratory tests suggest that when the shellfish suck in tiny plastic particles, their reproductive success suffers.
实验室试验表明，当蚝类动物吸入了塑料颗粒后，它们的生殖系统将会蒙受损害。
撰文/播音 克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔 (Christopher Intagliata)
翻译 Meatle
审校 邰伦玥
As many as 12 million tons of plastic waste end up in the world's oceans every year, according to a 2015 estimate in the journalScience. Over time, wind and waves grind and chew that plastic trash into tiny bits of what’s called "microplastic"—which happen to be about the same size and shape as the micro algae that filter feeders like oysters snack on. Meaning oysters can ingest it.
根据2015年《科学》(Science)杂志的估算，每年多达1200吨的塑料废料最终流入大海。随着时间的流逝，海风和洋流带动着这些塑料，使它们相互磨研、粉碎，直至变成所谓的“塑料微粒”。这些塑料微粒只有微藻的大小，刚好成为以蚝类为主的滤食性动物的零食。也就是说，蚝类可以吞下这些塑料微粒。
To find out the effects of consuming the debris, researchers at the French Institute for Ocean Studies raised oysters in water polluted with plastic microbeads, in concentrations similar to those observed in field studies. The shellfish sucked up the six-micrometer-wide plastic particles extremely efficiently—as they evolved to do with the tiny algae.
为了找出吃下了这些微粒所带来的影响，法国海洋研究院的研究人员在被塑料微粒污染的水中养育了一批蚝类。该污水的塑料微粒浓度与实地调查获得的污水浓度相仿。蚝类能吞入特别多的6微米级的塑料微粒，因为它们演化成这样，可以最有效地吸入藻类。
Two months later, the oysters exposed to microplastics produced half as many eggs and slower swimming sperm than did oysters that fed on algae alone. Perhaps, the researchers say, because plastic interferes with the oysters' energy uptake. And the offspring of the plastic-eaters were also smaller and slower-growing than the progeny of control oysters. The study is in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [Rossana Sussarellu et al, Oyster reproduction is affected by exposure to polystyrene microplastics]
两个月后，曝露在塑料微粒下的蚝类，相对于仅摄入藻类的蚝类，其卵子的生产数量更少、精子的游动速度更慢。研究人员认为，可能因为塑料微粒干扰了蚝类的能量摄取。与此同时，那些吞食塑料微粒的蚝类的后代相比控制组的后代体型更小，成长更慢。该研究发表在《美国国家科学院院刊》 (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)上。
The scientists say oysters will probably survive in spite of plastic pollution—they're still prolific reproducers. But until we clean up our act, there's no question we're giving them a raw deal.
研究人员认为，尽管蚝类能够在塑料污染的水中幸存，因为它们仍能够大量繁衍，但是，在我们清除我们造成的污染之前，它们仍在承受我们的苛待。
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