From Bad to Worse: Carryover Effects Alter Responses to Multiple Stressors
- 1Laval University
Abstract
Ecological responses to environmental stressors are increasingly shaped by interactions among anthropogenic and climatic drivers, yet the influence of prior exposure history on subsequent stress responses remains poorly integrated into multiple stressor ecology. Using the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) as a model system, we experimentally tested whether prior exposure to environmental nanoplastics modifies responses to subsequent stressors, including copper contamination, nutrient enrichment, and salinity fluctuations, individually and in combination. Nanoplastic pre-exposure reduced survival across subsequent treatments and altered stressor interaction outcomes at the community level, shifting responses toward synergistic effects that amplified metabolic costs. These results demonstrate that exposure history can modify both the magnitude and direction of multi-stressor effects, with consequences extending beyond individual performance to ecosystem functioning. By incorporating temporal exposure dynamics into multiple stressor research, our study highlights how ecological responses to global change depend not only on the identity and intensity of stressors, but also on prior environmental conditions shaping subsequent organismal and ecosystem health status and responses.
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BibTeX
@misc{carrierbelleau2026from,
title = {{From Bad to Worse: Carryover Effects Alter Responses to Multiple Stressors}},
author = {C. Carrier-Belleau and P. Brooks and L. Feugere and P. Archambault and P. Calosi and J. Coughlan and A. Trudelle and T. Crowe and J. Gigault},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.09.757873},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.09.757873v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - From Bad to Worse: Carryover Effects Alter Responses to Multiple Stressors
AU - C. Carrier-Belleau
AU - P. Brooks
AU - L. Feugere
AU - P. Archambault
AU - P. Calosi
AU - J. Coughlan
AU - A. Trudelle
AU - T. Crowe
AU - J. Gigault
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.09.757873
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.09.757873v1
AB - Ecological responses to environmental stressors are increasingly shaped by interactions among anthropogenic and climatic drivers, yet the influence of prior exposure history on subsequent stress responses remains poorly integrated into multiple stressor ecology. Using the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) as a model system, we experimentally tested whether prior exposure to environmental nanoplastics modifies responses to subsequent stressors, including copper contamination, nutrient enrichment, and salinity fluctuations, individually and in combination. Nanoplastic pre-exposure reduced survival across subsequent treatments and altered stressor interaction outcomes at the community level, shifting responses toward synergistic effects that amplified metabolic costs. These results demonstrate that exposure history can modify both the magnitude and direction of multi-stressor effects, with consequences extending beyond individual performance to ecosystem functioning. By incorporating temporal exposure dynamics into multiple stressor research, our study highlights how ecological responses to global change depend not only on the identity and intensity of stressors, but also on prior environmental conditions shaping subsequent organismal and ecosystem health status and responses.
ER -