Exposure to microplastics impairs fish's major behaviors. A novel threat to aquatic ecosystem

Microplastic (MP) pollution has emerged as a pervasive and persistent threat, fundamentally altering aquatic ecosystems through the ubiquitous dispersion of synthetic particles. This review study aimed to highlight the possible consequences of MPs on fish behavior and to identify some significant gaps, which need to be filled scientifically, i.e., to study the fate and effects of MPs on fish behavior in water flow velocity. Behavior, as the final integrated result of an organism's neurological and physiological state, represents a uniquely sensitive and relevant endpoint for assessing sublethal stress. This review critically deconstructs the impacts on core behavioral repertoires, including swimming, reproduction, sociality, and predator-prey dynamics, framing them not merely as toxicological signatures but as potent drivers of ecological change. By arguing that behavioral science must be a keystone of modern ecotoxicology, we draw a future research direction, supporting an ecologically-realistic and mechanistically-driven approach to confront the silent fish behavioral abnormalities caused by the MPs pollution.