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Toxicity and trophic transfer of polyethylene microplastics from Poecilia reticulata to Danio rerio
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Researchers established an experimental food chain using guppy fry and adult zebrafish to test whether polyethylene microplastics can transfer between fish species at different trophic levels. The study found evidence of microplastic trophic transfer, with behavioral changes, mutagenic effects, and cytotoxic impacts observed in the predator fish that consumed microplastic-exposed prey.
The potential transfer of microplastics (MPs) between vertebrates belonging to the same taxonomic group, and the impact of such a transfer on higher trophic levels remains little explored. An experimental food chain with two fish species was installed to test the hypothesis that polyethylene MPs (PE MPs) can accumulate in animals and cause behavioral, mutagenic and cytotoxic changes at upper trophic levels. Poecilia reticulata fry were exposed to MPs for 48 h and, subsequently, offered (as food) to Danio rerio adults for 10 days to simulate an upper level food chain. PE MPs quantification in fry and in different Danio rerio tissues evidenced their accumulation at the two assessed trophic levels. This finding suggested their absorption, adherence and translocation from one organism to another. The accumulation seen in D. rerio directly exposed to MPs was associated with behavioral disorders at upper trophic level. These animals presented behavior suggestive of anti-predatory response deficit when they were confronted with a potential aquatic predator (Geophagus brasiliensis). This finding was inferred through lower school cohesion, shallower school depth and shorter distance from the potential predator. In addition, animals exposed to MPs recorded higher nuclear abnormality rates and changes in the size and shape of erythrocytes and in their nuclei; this outcome has suggested mutagenic and cytotoxic effects, respectively. Based on the current results, MPs are transferred through a food chain that only involves two vertebrates. MPs enter the vertebrates' organs, change their behavior and induce mutagenic and cytotoxic processes in animals, which can cause significant ecological consequences in freshwater ecosystems.
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Scientists fed tiny plastic particles to brine shrimp, then fed those shrimp to tilapia (a popular food fish), and found the plastic passed up the food chain into the fish's gut — with more plastic exposure leading to more plastic buildup. While the fish showed no major short-term behavior changes, this study confirms that microplastics can travel through the food web from small prey to the fish many people eat, which matters as scientists continue investigating what that means for the fish and for us.
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Researchers exposed three-spined sticklebacks to polyethylene microplastics via food chain transfer (prey ingestion) for one month and measured biochemical and molecular effects. While the microplastics were transferred through the trophic chain, chemical toxicity was not amplified, suggesting that trophic transfer alone may not substantially increase the chemical risk from microplastics in this species.
Concurrent water- and foodborne exposure to microplastics leads to differential microplastic ingestion and neurotoxic effects in zebrafish
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Researchers compared how zebrafish are affected by microplastics ingested directly from water versus through their food chain. They found that the route of exposure made a significant difference, with food-chain transfer leading to different patterns of microplastic accumulation and more pronounced neurotoxic effects than waterborne exposure alone. The study highlights that trophic transfer is an important but often overlooked pathway for microplastic exposure in aquatic organisms.
Bioaccumulation, transfer, and impacts of microplastics in aquatic food chains
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Researchers tracked microplastics through an experimental aquatic food chain from algae to copepods to fish and found that the tiny particles transferred up each level, harming organisms at every step. Microplastics reduced algae growth, killed copepods, and changed fish behavior in ways that made them more vulnerable to predators. This demonstrates how microplastic pollution can cascade through entire ecosystems and potentially reach humans through seafood.
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