Microplastics affect the substrate choice in Ephemera danica Müller, 1764

Microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems and their effects on macroinvertebrates

Insect Interactions with Microplastics Under Different Ecosystems

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This review examines how insects interact with microplastics across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, including ingestion, bioaccumulation, and trophic transfer to insectivorous predators. Insects are key links in food webs connecting environmental microplastic contamination to vertebrate animals and humans, making their role in microplastic transfer a critical and underappreciated exposure pathway.

A permeating threat of microplastics on insects and their ecological roles

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Researchers review how microplastic contamination disrupts insect physiology — reducing reproductive success, altering behavior, and compromising immunity — with cascading consequences for pollination, pest control, and nutrient cycling that could ripple broadly through agriculture and biodiversity.

Microplastics on beaches: ingestion and behavioural consequences for beachhoppers

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Researchers showed that beach-dwelling amphipods (beachhoppers) ingest microplastics and subsequently show altered predator-avoidance and social behaviors, suggesting plastic contamination can disrupt the survival instincts of small coastal animals in ways that may ripple up through food webs.

Microplastics in Terrestrial Ecosystems

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This review assessed microplastic accumulation in terrestrial ecosystems — including agricultural soils, forests, and urban environments — documenting effects on soil structure, earthworm health, plant growth, and microbial diversity driven by decades of dramatic plastic production growth. Because terrestrial environments receive far more microplastic deposition than oceans yet are less studied, the soil contamination documented here directly threatens food production and represents a major underappreciated source of human dietary microplastic exposure through crops and soil-grown produce.