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“Hook & Loop” Interactions between Fibrous Microplastics and Zooplankton
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This study investigated the physical 'hook and loop' interactions between fibrous microplastics and zooplankton, exploring how fiber shape leads to entanglement rather than just ingestion. Fibrous microplastics — the dominant form in most marine environments — interact with small zooplankton differently than spherical particles, potentially impairing feeding, movement, and reproduction in these ecologically critical organisms.
Today, microplastics (1 m–5 mm) have been found within organisms ranging from small invertebrates to large mammals [...]
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Size- and shape-dependent ingestion and acute toxicity of fragmented and spherical microplastics in the absence and presence of prey on two marine zooplankton
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Researchers tested how the size and shape of microplastics affect their toxicity to tiny marine animals called zooplankton. Smaller particles were swallowed more often, but irregularly shaped fragments were more toxic than smooth spheres of similar size. When natural food was present, the animals ate fewer microplastics, suggesting that real-world toxicity depends on both particle characteristics and environmental conditions.
Influence of Shape on Heteroaggregation of Model Microplastics: A Simulation Study
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This simulation study examined how the shape of microplastic particles (spheres vs. fibers vs. fragments) affects how they clump together (heteroaggregate) with natural organic matter in water. Particle shape influences how far microplastics travel, where they settle, and how available they are to aquatic organisms.
Microplastic ingestion in marine mesozooplankton species associated with functional feeding traits
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This study examined microplastic ingestion in marine mesozooplankton species with different functional traits, finding that feeding mode, body size, and habitat use are key predictors of plastic uptake across zooplankton communities.
Bioavailability of Microplastics to Marine Zooplankton: Effect of Shape and Infochemicals
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The influence of microplastic shape (bead, fiber, and fragment) and algal infochemicals (DMS and DMSP) on microplastic ingestion by marine zooplankton was investigated. Shape significantly affected ingestion rates, and infochemicals influenced zooplankton feeding behavior in ways that altered microplastic uptake, revealing how chemical cues in the ocean shape plastic particle ingestion.
How do microplastics affect the marine microbial loop? Predation of microplastics by microzooplankton
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This study examined how micro- and nanoplastics affect marine protozoans that serve as key links in the microbial loop, the process of material and energy cycling in ocean ecosystems. Results showed that both size classes of plastic particles impaired protozoan predation on bacteria, potentially disrupting carbon and nutrient transfer in marine microbial food webs.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.