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20 resultsShowing papers similar to Effects of microsized and nanosized polystyrene on detrital processing and nutrient dynamics in streams
ClearNanoplastic pollution inhibits stream leaf decomposition through modulating microbial metabolic activity and fungal community structure
Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics significantly inhibited leaf litter decomposition in freshwater streams, even at low concentrations. The study suggests this occurs through suppression of key microbial enzymes and shifts in fungal community structure, indicating that nanoplastic pollution could disrupt important nutrient cycling processes in freshwater ecosystems.
Impacts of low concentrations of nanoplastics on leaf litter decomposition and food quality for detritivores in streams
Researchers found that low concentrations of polystyrene nanoplastics impaired leaf litter decomposition in forested streams by reducing aquatic hyphomycete fungal activity and decreasing food quality for detritivore invertebrates, threatening stream ecosystem function.
Size-dependent impacts from polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics on freshwater invertebrates: A mesocosm study combining environmental DNA metabarcoding and morphological identification
A 14-week outdoor mesocosm experiment exposed natural freshwater invertebrate communities to 15 µm and 150 nm polystyrene particles, finding size-dependent effects on community composition with nanoplastics causing greater disruption than microplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations.
Size dependent impacts of a model microplastic on nitrification induced by interaction with nitrifying bacteria
Researchers found that smaller 50 nm polystyrene particles had a greater inhibitory impact on nitrification than larger 500 nm particles, reducing nitrite utilization rates and disrupting nitrogen cycling more severely. The size-dependent effect suggests nanoplastics pose greater risks to aquatic nitrogen processing than microplastics.
Effects of nanoplastic exposure routes on leaf decomposition in streams
Researchers conducted a microcosm experiment showing that dietary exposure to nanoplastics — through eating contaminated leaf litter — more severely disrupts stream food webs than waterborne exposure, reducing microbial enzyme activity, lowering leaf lipid content, and decreasing river snail feeding rates by up to 17%.
Acute effects of nanoplastics and microplastics on periphytic biofilms depending on particle size, concentration and surface modification
Researchers tested the acute effects of polystyrene particles ranging from 100 nanometers to 9 micrometers on freshwater biofilms that are essential for nutrient cycling. They found that larger particles had negligible effects, but high concentrations of 100-nanometer particles significantly reduced chlorophyll content and enzyme activities related to carbon and nitrogen cycling. Positively charged nanoparticles were the most toxic, with the damage linked to oxidative stress from excess reactive oxygen species generation.
Effects of different sizes of polystyrene micro(nano)plastics on soil microbial communities.
This study tested how polystyrene micro- and nanoplastic particles of three sizes affect soil microbial communities and nutrient cycling, finding that smaller particles caused greater disruption to nitrogen cycling and microbial activity. The results suggest that as plastics in soil fragment into smaller pieces over time, their impact on soil biology and fertility may worsen.
Response of a simulated aquatic fungal community to nanoplastics exposure and functional consequence on leaf decomposition
Researchers exposed a simulated stream fungal community to nano-polystyrene and found that even low concentrations (1–100 µg/L) suppressed fungal reproduction and reduced the abundance of Geotrichum candidum, slowing leaf litter decomposition by up to 27.9% and disrupting a key aquatic nutrient cycling function.
Nanoplastic-mediated disruption of freshwater carbon cycling via modulating of plankton communities
Researchers exposed freshwater mesocosms to polystyrene nanoplastics (80–500 nm) at 1 mg/L and found significant disruption of zooplankton and bacterial community structure, which altered carbon cycling processes — suggesting nanoplastics can impair the ecosystem functions that regulate freshwater carbon flux.
Effects of microplastics/nanoplastics on Vallisneria natans roots and sediment: Size effect, enzymology, and microbial communities
This study compared how polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics of three different sizes (20 nm, 200 nm, and 2 µm) affected the aquatic plant Vallisneria natans and surrounding sediment. Smaller particles adhered more readily to roots and altered root growth, while larger particles caused greater oxidative stress. All sizes disrupted sediment enzyme activity and shifted microbial communities on root surfaces, reducing beneficial bacteria like Proteobacteria. The findings show that particle size is a key variable in predicting microplastic harm to aquatic plant ecosystems.
Size-Dependent Effects of Polystyrene Nanoplastics on Freshwater Microalgae After Long-Term Exposure
Researchers exposed a common freshwater algae species to polystyrene nanoplastics of three different sizes over an extended period. They found that the smallest particles caused the most damage to algae cells, while the largest particles had relatively mild effects, revealing a clear size-dependent toxicity pattern. The study suggests that the tiniest nanoplastic particles in freshwater environments may pose the greatest risk to the base of aquatic food webs.
Divergent responses in microbial metabolic limitations and carbon use efficiency to variably sized polystyrene microplastics in soil
Researchers found that polystyrene microplastics of all sizes disrupted soil microbe metabolism, but the smallest particles (nanoscale, 0.1 micrometers) caused the most stress. Smaller particles were more likely to enter microbial cells directly and reduce the efficiency with which soil microbes process carbon. This matters because soil microbes play a critical role in carbon cycling, and widespread microplastic contamination could affect how soil stores and releases carbon.
Polystyrene nanoparticles intensify the algae-mediated negative priming effect on leaf litter decomposition
Researchers showed that polystyrene nanoplastics intensify the natural inhibitory effect of benthic algae on leaf litter decomposition in streams, reducing decomposition rates by 21%, by depleting labile carbon transfer from algae to fungal decomposers and reducing fungal diversity, including key decomposer genera essential for aquatic nutrient cycling.
Evidence of micro and macroplastic toxicity along a stream detrital food-chain.
Both micro- and macroplastic polyethylene pieces inhibited the decomposition of leaf litter in freshwater streams, with microplastics reducing the feeding activity of stream invertebrates. Since leaf litter decomposition is a critical process that nutrients and energy flow into freshwater food webs, plastic pollution could disrupt these fundamental ecosystem functions.
Microplastics in freshwaters: Comparing effects of particle properties and an invertebrate consumer on microbial communities and ecosystem functions
Researchers tested how different microplastic properties, including concentration, shape, and polymer type, affect microbial communities and ecosystem functions in freshwater environments. They found that the presence of an invertebrate consumer had a stronger influence on microbial activity than the microplastics themselves, though high concentrations of certain particle shapes did alter community composition. The study suggests that the ecological effects of microplastics in freshwater depend heavily on the broader biological context.
Size dependent effects of nanoplastics and microplastics on the nitrogen cycle of microbial flocs
Researchers found that nano- and microplastics reduce the nitrogen cycling capacity of microbial flocs used in aquaculture, with smaller nanoplastics causing greater disruption than larger microplastics in a size-dependent toxicity pattern.
Tracking nanoplastics in freshwater microcosms and their impacts to aquatic organisms
Researchers tracked palladium-doped polystyrene nanoplastics in freshwater microcosms and found they caused toxic effects on cyanobacteria, green algae, and crustaceans at varying concentrations, with particle aggregation and surface interactions driving organism-specific impacts.
Microplastics and silver nanoparticles compromise detrital food chains in streams through effects on microbial decomposers and invertebrate detritivores
Researchers tested how microplastics and silver nanoparticles, both common pollutants from personal care products, affect stream food webs built around decomposing leaf litter. They found that both pollutants, alone and in combination, reduced fungal decomposition and harmed invertebrate feeding and growth, disrupting the base of the food chain. The study suggests that the co-occurrence of these contaminants in freshwater could impair nutrient cycling in stream ecosystems.
Microplastics have lethal and sublethal effects on stream invertebrates and affect stream ecosystem functioning
Using a mesocosm experiment, researchers showed that microplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations caused lethal and sublethal effects on freshwater invertebrates and reduced key ecosystem functions including leaf litter decomposition and algal colonization of streambed substrates.
Nanoplastics intensify metal-induced impacts in freshwater ecosystems
Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics — both bare and carboxylated — intensified metal-induced impairment of leaf litter decomposition by aquatic hyphomycetes in freshwater microcosms, with combined stressor effects observed at environmentally relevant concentrations and amplified at higher exposures.