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Freshwater Lacustrine Zooplankton and Microplastic: An Issue to Be Still Explored
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This review examined the interactions between freshwater lacustrine zooplankton and microplastics, highlighting how microplastic ingestion affects planktonic organisms that form the base of lake food webs. The authors call for more research on lake-specific microplastic dynamics.
Lakes are essentially interlinked to humans as they provide water for drinking, agriculture, industrial and domestic purposes. The upsurge of plastic usage, its persistence, and potential detrimental effects on organisms cause impacts on the trophic food web of freshwater ecosystems; this issue, however, still needs to be explored. Zooplankton worldwide is commonly studied as an indicator of environmental risk in aquatic ecosystems for several pollutants. The aim of the review is to link the existing knowledge of microplastic pollution in zooplankton to assess the potential risks linked to these organisms which are at the first level of the lacustrine trophic web. A database search was conducted through the main databases to gather the relevant literature over the course of time. The sensitivity of zooplankton organisms is evident from laboratory studies, whereas several knowledge gaps exist in the understanding of mechanisms causing toxicity. This review also highlights insufficient data on field studies hampering the understanding of the pollution extent in lakes, as well as unclear trends on ecosystem-level cascading effects of microplastics (MPs) and mechanisms of toxicity (especially in combination with other pollutants). Therefore, this review provides insight into understanding the overlooked issues of microplastic in lake ecosystems to gain an accurate ecological risk assessment.
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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.
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.
Microplastics impact simple aquatic food web dynamics through reduced zooplankton feeding and potentially releasing algae from consumer control
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Researchers investigated how environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics affect freshwater food web dynamics using two zooplankton species. The study found that microplastic exposure reduced zooplankton feeding rates, which could potentially release algae from consumer control and disrupt aquatic food chain balance.
The impact of microplastics on lake communities: A mesocosm study
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Researchers conducted a mesocosm experiment to assess how microplastic contamination affects lake communities, including zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, and fish. They found that microplastic exposure caused varying effects across organism groups, with some community-level changes observed over the study period. The study highlights that microplastic pollution can alter freshwater ecosystem dynamics beyond what has been documented in single-species laboratory studies.
Effects of microplastics pollution on plankton: A review.
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This review summarizes the sources and characteristics of microplastics and their documented effects on plankton, including reduced growth, altered feeding, and reproductive impacts. As the base of aquatic food webs, plankton health is critical, making microplastic threats to these organisms a significant ecological concern.
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