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Do microplastics affect marine ecosystem productivity?
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This study estimated the potential impact of microplastics on marine ecosystem productivity (algae and zooplankton growth) by synthesizing lab toxicity data. The analysis suggested that current environmental microplastic concentrations may reduce primary productivity in some ocean regions, with knock-on effects up the food chain.
Marine and coastal ecosystems are among the largest contributors to the Earth's productivity. Experimental studies have shown negative impacts of microplastics on individual algae or zooplankton organisms. Consequently, primary and secondary productivity may be negatively affected as well. In this study we attempted to estimate the impacts on productivity at ecosystem level based on reported laboratory findings with a modelling approach, using our biogeochemical model for the North Sea (Delft3D-GEM). Although the model predicted that microplastics do not affect the total primary or secondary production of the North Sea as a whole, the spatial patterns of secondary production were altered, showing local changes of ±10%. However, relevant field data on microplastics are scarce, and strong assumptions were required to include the plastic concentrations and their impacts under field conditions into the model. These assumptions reveal the main knowledge gaps that have to be resolved to improve the first estimate above.
More Papers Like This
Do microplastics affect marine ecosystem productivity?
AI summary Read the abstract
This study estimated the ecosystem-level impacts of microplastics on marine productivity by scaling up laboratory findings on individual algae and zooplankton to broader ecological models. The results suggest that microplastics may measurably reduce both primary and secondary marine productivity, with consequences for ocean carbon cycling and food webs.
Concentration dependent toxicity of microplastics to marine microalgae
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A dose-response study of microplastic effects on marine microalgae found concentration-dependent toxicity across multiple species, with higher MP concentrations reducing growth rates, photosynthesis efficiency, and chlorophyll content, confirming that microplastics pose risks to the base of marine food webs.
The Ecotoxicological Effects of Microplastics on Primary Producers in the Marine Environment
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This review examines how microplastics harm marine primary producers including microalgae, seagrasses, and coral reefs. Microplastics concentrate 2-3 times higher in vegetated marine areas, damage algal cells, and have been linked to roughly 46% of coral reef mortality through disease outbreaks. These disruptions threaten the foundation of marine food webs.
Microplastics alter the functioning of marine microbial ecosystems
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Researchers used experimental mesocosms to investigate how microplastics affect the structure and functioning of marine microbial ecosystems. They found that microplastics indirectly altered marine productivity by shifting the composition of bacterial and phytoplankton communities. The study provides evidence that microplastic pollution can disrupt fundamental ecological processes in ocean ecosystems beyond effects on individual organisms.
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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.