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Impacts of environmental stressors on fertility and fecundity across taxa, with implications for planetary health
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Researchers review cross-species evidence showing that exposure to synthetic chemicals — including microplastics and PFAS — acts via endocrine disruption to reduce fertility, fecundity, and reproductive success across taxa, with some effects persisting across generations, underscoring the need for systemic approaches to chemical regulation.
Exposure to synthetic chemicals occurs across species. These substances are often untested, highly persistent, and lack regulation. Together with climate change, they can cause population decline. Many act as endocrine-disrupting chemicals, interfering with hormones at low concentrations. Emerging pollutants, including microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, further contribute. Impacts include reduced fertility, fecundity, and even multigenerational harm. Cross-species evidence underscores the need for systemic approaches to protect biodiversity and planetary health.
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This review summarized the evidence on how nano- and microplastics threaten reproduction and offspring health across multiple species, including fish, invertebrates, and mammals. The authors outlined potential mechanisms by which these plastic particles disrupt endocrine function, gonadal development, and embryonic development.
Reproductive Impact of Natural, Synthetic and Emerging Chemicals on Wildlife and Domestic Animals.
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This review examined how natural, synthetic, and emerging chemical contaminants — including legacy pesticides, flame retardants, plasticizers, and pharmaceuticals — disrupt reproduction and development in wildlife and domestic animals, emphasizing growing concerns about multi-chemical cocktail exposures.
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This review summarizes research on how microplastics and nanoplastics affect reproduction across many species, from aquatic invertebrates to mammals including humans. In males, exposure leads to testicular damage, lower sperm quality, and hormone disruption; in females, it causes ovarian and uterine problems, inflammation, and reduced fertility. The evidence also shows these reproductive harms can be passed to offspring, raising serious concerns about long-term effects on human fertility.
Mechanistic insights into microplastic-induced reproductive toxicity in aquatic organisms: A comprehensive review
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This review summarizes how microplastics cause reproductive harm in aquatic organisms by disrupting hormones, triggering oxidative stress, and interfering with cell death pathways. These effects lead to reduced fertility, abnormal egg and sperm development, and changes that can pass to future generations. Since microplastics accumulate through the food chain, these reproductive effects in aquatic life could have broader implications for ecosystem health and the seafood that humans consume.
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