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From Ingestion to Community Changes: The Effects of Nearshore Microplastics on Zooplankton: A Review
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This review summarizes 15 studies from 2013 to 2023 on how tiny plastic particles affect zooplankton, tiny water-dwelling organisms. Microplastics can look like food, and high concentrations reduced feeding and reproduction in these organisms, with their waste potentially carrying plastics to other animals in the food chain. Effects on broader population changes remain unclear, and more research is needed.
Microplastics are widely present in coastal waters. Because their size and appearance resemble those of natural food sources, they are frequently ingested by zooplankton. This mini-review examines how exposure to microplastics affects zooplankton feeding, development, reproduction, community structure, as well as energy transfer and carbon flux. Drawing on 15 original studies published between 2013 and 2023, this review examines topics such as microplastic intake, feces, reproduction, larval survival, and population growth in marine copepods. The results indicate that the size, shape, and degree of degradation of microplastics all influence the feeding preferences of zooplankton. Exposure to seawater containing high concentrations of microplastics reduces the feeding rates and reproductive development of planktonic organisms, and their feces may also transfer microplastics to other predators or to deeper waters through the food chain. However, direct evidence regarding the impact on changes in population structure remains limited, necessitating the conduct of more realistic, long-term, multi-species studies to assess the associated risks.
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Impacts of Microplastics on Zooplankton
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This review examines the impacts of microplastics on zooplankton communities, covering how microplastic ingestion and physicochemical alterations of aquatic environments affect zooplankton feeding, reproduction, and community structure. Zooplankton are highlighted as ecologically critical organisms whose disruption can cascade through aquatic food webs.
The Impacts of Microplastics on Zooplankton
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This review examines the growing concern about microplastic impacts on marine and freshwater zooplankton, noting that these tiny organisms can ingest microplastics and are at the base of most aquatic food webs. Plastic ingestion can cause gut blockages, immune responses, energy loss, and reduced reproduction, with potential cascading effects on ecosystems and the species—including fish and humans—that feed on zooplankton.
Microplastic Ingestion by Zooplankton
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This study examined whether tiny marine animals called zooplankton can ingest microplastics, and researchers found that thirteen different zooplankton species consumed plastic beads of various sizes. The plastics also stuck to the animals' outer shells and significantly reduced their normal feeding on algae, suggesting that microplastic pollution could disrupt the base of the marine food web.
Cross-Level Responses of Freshwater Zooplankton to Micro/Nanoplastics: A Meta-Analysis Integrating Individual- to Community-Level Evidence
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This study combined results from thousands of lab experiments on tiny water-dwelling animals (zooplankton) exposed to micro and nanoplastics. It found consistent harmful effects, including increased plastic ingestion, physical damage, feeding problems, and reduced growth, reproduction and survival, with effects varying based on plastic type, exposure time, and whether predators were present.
Bioavailability and effects of microplastics on marine zooplankton: A review
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This review synthesized laboratory and field evidence on microplastic bioavailability and effects on marine zooplankton, finding that multiple taxa readily ingest microplastics with negative impacts on feeding, reproduction, and energy balance, and that zooplankton represent a critical route for transferring microplastics into marine food webs. The authors identify particle size, concentration, and feeding behavior as the main determinants of microplastic bioavailability to zooplankton.
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