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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Ingestion of Microplastics in the Planktonic Copepod from the Indonesian Throughflow Pathways
ClearGlobal Meta-Analysis and Review of Microplastic in Marine Copepods
This global meta-analysis examines how copepods — tiny crustaceans at the base of the ocean food chain — interact with microplastics. It finds that despite individually low ingestion rates, the sheer abundance of copepods makes them significant microplastic reservoirs, with potential consequences that ripple up the food chain to fish and ultimately humans.
The Behavior of Planktonic Copepods Minimizes the Entry of Microplastics in Marine Food Webs
Researchers found that planktonic copepods across all major feeding behaviors ingested microplastics at rates up to ten times lower than similar-sized microalgae, suggesting that copepod feeding strategies naturally limit the entry of microplastics into marine food webs.
Microplastic ingestion by copepods in a coastal environment of the Gulf of California, Mexico
Copepods are tiny crustaceans that form a critical link in ocean food webs, and this study found that they were ingesting microplastics in Mexico's Gulf of California — even in samples collected as far back as 2003, before microplastic awareness was widespread. The presence of microplastics in archived zooplankton samples suggests contamination has been ongoing for decades in this region. Because copepods are eaten by fish and other marine animals, their microplastic ingestion represents an early entry point into the marine food chain.
Functional study of the ingestion and excretion of microplastics by marine coastal copepods
This study examined how marine coastal copepods ingest and excrete microplastics and assessed their role as vectors for plastic dispersal in the water column. Copepods readily ingested microplastics, retained particles for variable periods depending on size and feeding rate, and excreted aggregated fecal pellets that could redistribute plastics vertically in the ocean.
Is Zooplankton an Entry Point of Microplastics into the Marine Food Web?
Researchers investigated microplastic ingestion by zooplankton in natural marine environments, examining whether copepods and other zooplankton serve as an entry point for transferring microplastics from the water column into the marine food web.
Impact of anthropogenic activities on the abundance of microplastics in copepods sampled from the southeast coast of India
Researchers measured microplastic contamination in tiny crustaceans called copepods along the southeast coast of India and found that areas with more human activity had higher concentrations. Microplastics were present in both the surface water and inside the copepods themselves, with fibers being the most common type. The findings suggest that human activities along coastlines are directly contributing to microplastic ingestion by marine organisms at the base of the food chain.
Effects of microplastics on marine copepods
This review examines how microplastics affect marine copepods, the tiny crustaceans that form a critical link in ocean food chains. Researchers found that copepods readily ingest microplastics, which can block their digestive tracts, reduce feeding, trigger immune responses, deplete energy reserves, and impair reproduction. The effects depend on the size, shape, and chemical properties of the plastic particles, and microplastics can also carry other toxic pollutants that amplify the harm.
Microplastics Residence Time in Marine Copepods: An Experimental Study
Laboratory experiments measured how long microplastics remain in marine copepods after ingestion, finding that residence times vary by particle type and size, with some particles persisting longer than others and informing estimates of microplastic transfer through marine food webs.
Microplastic ingestion by zooplankton in surf zone waters of sandy beaches: Are copepods potential reservoirs of these emerging pollutants?
Researchers investigated microplastic ingestion by tiny zooplankton species in the surf zone of Atlantic beaches in southern Brazil. They found microplastics in the water at concentrations up to 1,750 items per cubic meter, with fibers being the most common type, and confirmed that copepods were ingesting these particles. The study suggests that zooplankton in turbulent nearshore waters may act as reservoirs that introduce microplastics into marine food webs.
A First Record on Microplastic Ingestion by Tropical Estuarine Copepods of Bangladesh
Researchers documented for the first time microplastic ingestion by calanoid and cyclopoid copepods in the Lower Meghna Estuary of Bangladesh over a one-year sampling period. Fibers accounted for over 50 percent of ingested particles in both copepod groups, with acid digestion and SEM used for extraction and identification.
In situ microplastic ingestion by neritic zooplankton of the central Mexican Pacific
Researchers documented in situ microplastic ingestion by zooplankton in two bays of the central Mexican Pacific, finding that copepods, decapod larvae, and chaetognaths ingested microplastics, predominantly fibers, with higher rates during the rainy season.
Bioavailability and ingestion of microplastic by zooplankton in the natural environment
This study reviewed the bioavailability and ingestion of microplastics by marine zooplankton, which are particularly vulnerable because microplastic sizes overlap with their natural prey. Laboratory and field evidence shows zooplankton including copepods readily ingest microplastics, affecting energy budgets and potentially transferring particles up the food chain.
Small microplastic ingestion by the calanoid Centropages furcatus in the Gulf of Thailand
Researchers analyzed small microplastics ingested by the copepod Centropages furcatus in the Gulf of Thailand and found plastic particles in every sample examined. The average ingestion rate was among the highest recorded for this type of zooplankton, with polypropylene fragments smaller than 50 micrometers being the most common. The findings suggest that these tiny organisms could transfer significant amounts of microplastics up through the marine food chain.
Real-time visualization reveals copepod mediated microplastic flux
Real-time microscopy revealed how copepods (tiny marine crustaceans) mediate the transport and fragmentation of microplastics through feeding and egestion behavior. This shows that zooplankton play an active biological role in shaping the distribution and size spectrum of microplastics in marine waters.
Microplastics Ingestion by Copepods in Two Contrasting Seasons: A Case Study from the Terminos Lagoon, Southern Gulf of Mexico
Researchers studied microplastic ingestion by copepods across two contrasting seasons in a marine environment, finding that ingestion rates and particle types varied with seasonal changes in microplastic availability and copepod feeding behavior. Fibers were the most frequently ingested particle type.
Ingestion of Microplastics by Zooplankton in the Northeast Pacific Ocean
Researchers collected zooplankton from the northeast Pacific Ocean and found microplastics ingested by multiple species, demonstrating that microplastic uptake occurs throughout the open ocean zooplankton community far from coastlines.
Ingestion of microplastics by copepods in Tampa Bay Estuary, FL
Researchers studied tiny crustaceans called copepods in Tampa Bay, Florida, and found they regularly ingest microplastic fragments from the surrounding water. Over a two-year sampling period, an average of about 15 plastic particles were found per 1,000 copepods, mostly small fragments rather than fibers. Since copepods are a key food source for fish and other marine life, their intake of microplastics could transfer plastic contamination up the food chain.
First assessment of anthropogenic particle ingestion in Pontellid copepods: Pontella mediterranea as a potential microplastic reservoir in the Neuston
This Mediterranean study found that the neustonic copepod Pontella mediterranea, which lives at the ocean surface, ingests anthropogenic particles including microplastics, and due to its very high abundance could collectively concentrate an average of 45 particles per square meter of sea surface. Most ingested particles were cellulose acetate and cotton fibers, not classic plastic polymers. Because these copepods are globally abundant and sit at the base of marine food webs, their role as a reservoir and vector of anthropogenic particles into ocean food chains deserves greater attention.
Microplastics in zooplankton in the eastern Arabian Sea: The threats they pose to fish and corals favoured by coastal currents
Researchers found that zooplankton including copepods, chaetognaths, decapods, and fish larvae across six zones along India's western coast in the Eastern Arabian Sea accumulated microplastics predominantly as pellets (52%), with coastal currents implicated in dispersing contamination to fish and coral reef ecosystems.
Microplastics in the menu of Mediterranean zooplankton: Insights from the feeding response of the calanoid copepod Centropages typicus
Researchers investigated how the Mediterranean copepod Centropages typicus responds to microplastics, finding that these zooplankton ingest plastic particles whose size overlaps with their natural nano-microplankton prey, potentially threatening marine food web functioning.
Assessing size-based exposure to microplastic particles and ingestion pathways in zooplankton and herring in a coastal pelagic ecosystem of British Columbia, Canada
Researchers assessed size-based microplastic exposure and ingestion pathways in zooplankton and larval Pacific herring in British Columbia's coastal waters, finding evidence of both direct consumption and trophic transfer of microplastics through the pelagic food web.
Occurrence and ingestion of microplastics by zooplankton in Kenya's marine environment: first documented evidence
Researchers documented the first evidence of microplastic ingestion by zooplankton in Kenyan coastal waters, finding an average of 110 microplastic particles per cubic metre at the sea surface, with 129 particles recovered from zooplankton including chaetognaths, copepods, amphipods, and fish larvae. Filaments dominated both water and ingested microplastics, comprising 76% and 97% of their respective compositions.
Microplastic ingestion induces energy loss on the copepod Tigriopus koreanus
This study found that tiny copepods (small marine crustaceans near the base of the food chain) lose significant energy when they ingest microplastics instead of real food. The microplastics provided no nutrition but took energy to process, reducing the animals' ability to grow and reproduce. Since copepods are a critical food source for fish, this energy loss could ripple up the food chain and ultimately affect seafood quality and availability for humans.
Investigating Microplastic Ingestion by Zooplankton
This thesis investigated microplastic ingestion by four species of marine zooplankton, finding that the copepod Centropages typicus ingested nylon powder, polyethylene microbeads, and synthetic rope fibers. Exposure to microplastics caused an energy deficit in most species by displacing nutritious food, potentially reducing the energy available for zooplankton growth and reproduction with knock-on effects up the food chain.