Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Ingestion and transfer of microplastics in the planktonic food web

Researchers demonstrated that microplastics are ingested and transferred through a planktonic food web, with particles passing from primary producers to zooplankton grazers and on to predatory plankton, establishing trophic transfer as a real pathway for microplastic movement through marine food chains.

2013 Environmental Pollution 1567 citations
Article Tier 2

Application of marine organisms at multi-trophic level to study the integrated biological responses induced by microplastics through food-chain

Researchers used marine organisms across multiple trophic levels to study how microplastics move and accumulate through the food chain, finding that toxicological effects intensify at higher trophic levels due to bioaccumulation of plastic particles and associated chemical pollutants.

2024
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer of microplastics in zooplanktons towards its speculations on human health: A review

This review examines how microplastics move through the ocean food chain, from tiny zooplankton at the base up through fish to humans, and what health effects may result. Trophic transfer means microplastics can concentrate as they move up the food web, increasing human dietary exposure.

2019 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer of nanoplastics through a microalgae–crustacean–small yellow croaker food chain: Inhibition of digestive enzyme activity in fish

Researchers tracked how nanoplastics move through a marine food chain from microalgae to crustaceans to fish, demonstrating that plastic particles transfer upward through feeding relationships. The nanoplastics accumulated at each level and ultimately inhibited digestive enzyme activity in the fish. The study suggests that nanoplastics could eventually reach humans through seafood consumption via this same trophic transfer process.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 94 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating microplastic trophic transfer in marine top predators

Researchers investigated whether microplastics can transfer through the food chain by analyzing the scat of captive grey seals and the wild mackerel they were fed. They found microplastics in about half of the seal scat samples and a third of the fish, with similar particle types in both. The study suggests that trophic transfer is a plausible route for microplastics to move up marine food chains to top predators.

2018 Environmental Pollution 978 citations
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer of polyester microfibres across a multi-level marine food web

Researchers tracked how polyester microfibers move through a coral reef food chain, from tiny copepods to shrimp to fish. They found that microplastic concentrations increased up to 14.6-fold between trophic levels, demonstrating that these particles accumulate as they pass up the food web. The study highlights how microplastics can concentrate in marine organisms through normal predator-prey relationships.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of microplastics on coastal biota and the potential for trophic transfer

This research investigated how microplastics affect coastal marine organisms and whether they transfer up the food chain, finding that beach invertebrates readily ingest microplastics and show behavioral changes, and that contaminated prey can transfer plastics to predators. The results raise concerns about cascading effects through marine food webs.

2022 Figshare 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastic Ingestion on Commercial Fish: A Trophic-Level Analysis

Researchers analyzed over 1,600 fish from two Colombian estuaries and found a significant link between a fish species' position in the food chain and the amount of microplastics it ingests. Fish that feed at higher levels of the food web accumulated more microplastics, and those that had ingested plastics showed signs of poorer body condition. The findings highlight how microplastics build up through the marine food chain, with potential consequences for both ecosystem and human health.

2025 International Journal of Environmental Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring transfer of microplastics in the trophic chain: a prey-predator interaction case in the Strait of Messina

Researchers examined the transfer of microplastics across trophic levels in a prey-predator marine food web, tracking particles from prey organisms to predators. The study confirmed trophic transfer of microplastics and found that predators can accumulate higher particle concentrations than their prey.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer of microplastics from mysids to fish greatly exceeds direct ingestion from the water column

This study compared how fish take in microplastics directly from water versus through eating contaminated prey. Researchers found that fish consumed far more microplastics by eating prey organisms that had already ingested plastic particles than by filtering them from the water, highlighting that the food chain is a major route of microplastic exposure for predators.

2021 Environmental Pollution 157 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecological impact of microplastic pollution on marine food webs

This review examines how microplastic pollution disrupts marine food webs, tracing the transfer of plastic particles and associated chemicals from plankton through fish to top predators and analyzing the ecological consequences for marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

2025 International Journal of Aquatic Research and Environmental Studies
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer of microplastics and mixed contaminants in the marine food web and implications for human health

This review examines how microplastics and the chemicals they carry transfer through marine food webs from lower to higher trophic levels, and what this means for human health given that people consume marine fish and seafood. It identifies microplastics as a vector for bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants in ways that ultimately reach humans.

2018 OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Marine Ecology Progress Series 26 citations
Article Tier 2

The patterns of trophic transfer of microplastic ingestion by fish in the artificial reef area and adjacent waters of Haizhou Bay

Researchers examined microplastic ingestion by fish in Haizhou Bay's artificial reef area, finding evidence of trophic transfer where predatory species accumulated more microplastics than lower trophic level species in the food web.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer increases the exposure to microplastics in littoral predators

Researchers studied how microplastics move through Baltic Sea food chains from zooplankton to shrimp to prawns in laboratory experiments. They found that predators accumulated microplastics both from the water directly and by eating contaminated prey, with trophic transfer significantly increasing overall exposure. The study suggests that animals higher up the food chain face compounded microplastic exposure from multiple sources.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Risk into a Three-Link Food Chain Inside European Hake

Researchers demonstrated microplastic trophic transfer through a three-link food chain inside European hake, finding microplastics in northern krill, blue whiting prey fish, and hake stomachs from the Cantabrian Sea, confirming field evidence of bioaccumulation through predator-prey relationships.

2022 Diversity 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer of microplastics and mixed contaminants in the marine food web and implications for human health

This review examines how microplastics act as vectors for chemical contaminants through marine food webs, discussing the factors influencing ingestion, the biological impacts of sorbed chemicals, and evidence for trophic transfer across multiple trophic levels. Researchers highlight that existing lab studies use unrealistically high concentrations and that no study has yet tracked microplastic-contaminant transfer from seafood to humans.

2018 35 citations
Article Tier 2

A Summary of the Transporting Mechanism of Microplastics in Marine Food Chain and its Effects to Humans

This review summarized how microplastics are transported through marine food chains from plankton to fish to humans, detailing toxic effects at each trophic level and outlining mitigation strategies to reduce ecological and human health risks from oceanic plastic pollution.

2022 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer of nanoplastics reduces larval survival of marine fish more than waterborne exposure

This study compared direct waterborne exposure versus trophic transfer of micro- and nanoplastics on marine fish larvae, finding that trophic transfer caused significantly higher larval mortality. The results suggest that dietary uptake through the food web is a more dangerous exposure route than direct water contact for early-stage fish.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

Uptake and Transfer of Polyamide Microplastics in a Freshwater Mesocosm Study

A freshwater mesocosm study tracked the trophic and ontogenetic transfer of polyamide microplastics through an aquatic food web under near-natural conditions, confirming that particles were transferred between prey and predators at multiple levels. The results demonstrate that microplastic transfer through food webs occurs in realistic community settings, not just isolated laboratory tests.

2022 Water 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring transfer of microplastics in the trophic chain: a prey-predator interaction case in the Strait of Messina

This study examined how microplastics transfer through marine food webs via predator-prey interactions, tracking the movement of particles across trophic levels. Results confirmed that microplastics can be transferred from prey to predator and accumulate at higher trophic levels, posing risks to top predators and fisheries.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Research Progress on the Migration Pathways and Ecological Effects of Microplastics in Marine Food Webs

This paper reviews migration pathways and ecological effects of microplastics within marine food webs, tracing MP movement from primary producers through various trophic levels to apex predators and humans, and synthesizing evidence for biological harm at each stage of trophic transfer.

2025 Advances in Engineering Technology Research
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on the feeding rates of larvae of a coastal fish: direct consumption, trophic transfer, and effects on growth and survival

Researchers tested whether microplastics in seawater affect the feeding rates, growth, and survival of California Grunion fish larvae. They found that microplastics reduced feeding rates and demonstrated that trophic transfer of microplastics from zooplankton to larval fish occurs readily. The study suggests that microplastic pollution may impair early fish development by interfering with feeding behavior and introducing contaminants through the food chain.

2022 Marine Biology 52 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of microplastic bioconcentration, bioaccumulation and biomagnification in a simple coral reef food web

Researchers assessed microplastic bioconcentration, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification across three trophic levels in a coral reef food web, including zooplankton, benthic crustaceans, and reef fish. The study suggests that microplastics accumulate differently depending on species and trophic position, providing important baseline data for understanding ecological risks of microplastic contamination in coral reef ecosystems.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 77 citations