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No evidence of microplastic impacts on consumption or growth of larval Pimephales promelas
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This study found no evidence that microplastic polyethylene microspheres affected the feeding or growth of larval fathead minnows at the concentrations tested. The results suggest that not all microplastic exposures produce measurable harm in fish larvae, and that effect magnitude may depend strongly on particle concentration and type.
Microplastics are an abundant pollutant in aquatic systems, but little is known regarding their effects on larval fish. We conducted foraging and growth experiments to observe how increasing densities of microplastics (polyethylene microspheres) impact the foraging and growth of Pimephales promelas larvae. We found minimal impacts on larval consumption of Artemia nauplii in the consumption study, as well as little impact on total length after 30 d of the growth experiment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2912-2918. © 2018 SETAC.
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Microplastic consumption and excretion by fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas): Influence of particles size and body shape of fish
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