Assessment of the effects of environmental concentrations of microplastics on the aquatic snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum

In this study, we assessed the impacts of different environmental and supra-environmental concentrations of polystyrene microplastics on the mortality, behavior, and fertility of the New Zealand mudsnail Potamopyrgus antipodarum during a long-term exposure (31 days). Mortality
was evaluated as the cumulative number of dead adults. Behavior
was assessed by three variables: the cumulative percentage of immobile animals, the reaction
time, and the spatial distribution of individuals in the experimental units. Reproduction
was assessed by three variables: the total number of neonates, the cumulative
number of live neonates (i.e. sliding animals), and the cumulative number of
dead neonates (i.e. animals without movement) per live adult.
The following files correspond to the raw data used for the statistical analyses:
- "mort-.csv": contains the cumulative number of dead animals in each treatment ("Mort" column), the number of snails in each replicate, and the days after acclimatization when measurments were done.- "acum inmov-.csv": contains the data regarding the cumulative percentage of immobile snails (last column) in each treatment, the number of snails in each replicate, and the days after acclimatization when measurments were done.- "position-.csv": contains the number and the percentage of adult snails located on different parts of the experimental units (animals totally or partially buried in the
sediment, animals on the sediment, animals on the wall, and animals hanging
from the water surface as a consequence of surface tension) for each treatment, the number of snails in each replicate, and the days after acclimatization when measurments were done.- "neonates-.csv": includes the number of total, dead, and live neonates per alive adult, the number of snails in each replicate, and the days after acclimatization when measurments were done.- "activity-.csv": includes the reaction time (in seconds) of each individual in each treatment during the experimental period, the number of snails in each replicate, and the days after acclimatization when measurments were done.