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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Fate and effects of microplastic particles in a periphyton-grazer system
ClearExploring the trophic transfer and effects of microplastics in freshwater ecosystems: A focus on Bellamya aeruginosa to Mylopharyngodon piceus
This study tracked how microplastics transfer through a freshwater food chain, from snails to a commercially important fish species in China. The fish steadily accumulated microplastics over five weeks of eating contaminated snails, with particles moving from the gut into muscle tissue and altering gut bacteria to include more potentially harmful species -- highlighting how microplastics in aquatic food chains could ultimately reach people who eat fish.
Important ecological processes are affected by the accumulation and trophic transfer of nanoplastics in a freshwater periphyton-grazer food chain
Researchers found that nanoplastics bioaccumulate and transfer trophically in a freshwater periphyton-grazer food chain, affecting fundamental ecological processes and highlighting significant gaps in our understanding of nanoplastic risks in freshwater ecosystems.
Bipartite trophic levels cannot resist the interference of microplastics: A case study of submerged macrophytes and snail
Researchers studied how microplastics affect a two-level food chain consisting of a submerged aquatic plant and freshwater snails living together. They found that increasing microplastic concentrations harmed both organisms, reducing plant growth and disrupting snail feeding behavior and reproduction. The study demonstrates that microplastic pollution can destabilize interconnected species relationships in freshwater ecosystems.
Microplastic exposure across trophic levels: effects on the host–microbiota of freshwater organisms
Researchers examined how microplastic exposure across trophic levels affects the gut microbiota of freshwater organisms, finding that microplastics alter microbial community composition and that effects can transfer through food web interactions.
Assessment of the Effects of Environmental Concentrations of Microplastics on the Aquatic Snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum
Researchers examined the effects of environmentally relevant microplastic concentrations on the freshwater snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum, assessing impacts on this benthic invertebrate in an understudied freshwater ecosystem context.
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.
Environmental conditions affect the food quality of plastic associated biofilms for the benthic grazer Physa fontinalis
Researchers grew natural biofilms on PE, PET, and polystyrene plastics in a freshwater stream across winter and spring seasons and fed them to a grazing snail, finding that PE and PET supported lower-quality biofilms with reduced algal growth under cold, low-light winter conditions — an effect masked by favorable spring conditions.
A domesticated photoautotrophic microbial community as a biofilm model system for analyzing the influence of plastic surfaces on invertebrate grazers in limnic environments
Researchers developed a domesticated photoautotrophic microbial community as a biofilm model system to analyse how plastic surfaces influence invertebrate grazers in freshwater environments. The study found that biofilms growing on plastic substrates affected grazer behaviour and feeding differently than biofilms on natural surfaces, with implications for understanding how plastic pollution disrupts limnic food web interactions.
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.
Microplastic ingestion by Daphnia magna and its enhancement on algal growth
Researchers examined microplastic ingestion by the freshwater zooplankton Daphnia magna and its downstream effects on algal growth, finding that the organisms readily ingested microparticles. The study also observed that microplastic exposure indirectly enhanced algal growth, possibly by reducing grazing pressure, suggesting that plastic pollution could alter freshwater food web dynamics.
Grazing the plastisphere: Trophic transfer of the bioaccumulated metals to Artemia salina
Researchers examined how the plastisphere biofilm on microplastics influences metal accumulation and trophic transfer to the brine shrimp Artemia salina, finding that biofilm community structure significantly affects metallic load on plastic surfaces. The study demonstrated that metals bioaccumulated via the plastisphere are transferred up the food chain, raising concern about ecological risks from microplastic-associated contaminants.
The significance of trophic transfer in the uptake of microplastics by carnivorous gastropod Reishia clavigera
Researchers found that trophic transfer through prey consumption was the primary route of microplastic uptake in the carnivorous gastropod Reishia clavigera, with 64.6% of fibers transferring from mussel prey to predator, highlighting food chain accumulation risks.
Gastropod pedal mucus retains microplastics and promotes the uptake of particles by marine periwinkles
Marine periwinkles (snails) use sticky mucus to move along surfaces, and this study found that this mucus also traps and concentrates microplastic particles, facilitating their ingestion. This newly identified pathway increases the amount of microplastics that snails and similar mollusks consume from contaminated shorelines.
Aquatic Biofilms—Sink or Source of Microplastics? A Critical Reflection on Current Knowledge
This review critically assessed the relationship between aquatic biofilms and microplastics, examining how biofilms colonize plastic surfaces and may serve as both sinks and sources of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems.
Mass-based trophic transfer of polystyrene nanoplastics in the lettuce-snail food chain
Researchers traced the trophic transfer of polystyrene nanoplastics from water into lettuce plants and then into garden snails, finding measurable mass-based transfer at each step of the food chain even at low nanoplastic concentrations using pyrolysis-GC/MS quantification.
Ecotoxicity of microplastics to freshwater biota: Considering exposure and hazard across trophic levels
This review examines the toxic effects of microplastics on freshwater organisms across multiple levels of the food web, from biofilms and plankton to fish and amphibians. Researchers found evidence of harm in several species, though effects varied widely depending on particle size, type, and concentration. The study highlights that freshwater microplastic toxicity is still poorly understood compared to marine environments and calls for more standardized research.
Impacts of plastic surface on the periphyton under different nutrient and temperature: A mesocosm experiment
This mesocosm experiment investigated how microplastics affect periphyton (biofilm communities that grow on surfaces in water) under different nutrient levels and temperatures. Microplastics altered periphyton development in ways that could affect oxygen production and the feeding of organisms that graze on biofilm, with potential ripple effects throughout aquatic food webs.
Investigations into the Roles of Organisms on Environmental Plastic Pollution
This thesis investigated the roles of organisms in environmental plastic pollution, examining how marine and freshwater animals ingest microplastics and how they may transfer them through food webs. The work contributes to understanding the ecological consequences of plastic contamination in aquatic ecosystems.
Microplastics: understanding the interaction with the food web and potential health hazards
This review traces how microplastics move through aquatic food webs, from tiny filter-feeding organisms up to predatory fish, and ultimately to humans who consume seafood. Evidence indicates that microplastics can accumulate and concentrate at each level of the food chain, carrying toxic chemicals that may cause inflammation and hormone disruption. The authors stress the need for more research to understand these pathways and develop strategies to reduce microplastic contamination in food.
Microplastic-Associated Biofilms and Their Role in the Fate of Microplastics in Aquatic Environment
This review examines how microbial biofilms attached to microplastics in aquatic environments mediate the accumulation and transfer of chemical pollutants, exploring how the 'plastisphere' community influences the fate and ecotoxicological impact of microplastics and co-contaminants.
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.
Impacts of Biofilm Formation on the Fate and Potential Effects of Microplastic in the Aquatic Environment
Researchers reviewed how biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces affects the fate and potential ecological effects of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that biofilms alter particle buoyancy, surface chemistry, and interactions with organisms.
Quantitative tracking of nanoplastics along the food chain from lettuce (Lactuca sativa) to snails (Cantareus aspersus)
Researchers tracked the transfer of nanoplastics through a terrestrial food chain from lettuce to snails using specially labeled particles. They confirmed that nanoplastics taken up by lettuce were transferred to snails that fed on the contaminated plants, with measurable accumulation in snail tissues. The study provides direct evidence that nanoplastics can move up the food chain through trophic transfer in land-based ecosystems.
Trophic Transfer of Differentially Hydrophobic Nanoplastics along Marine Food Chains and Related Toxicity
Researchers studied how surface hydrophobicity affects the movement of nanoplastics through a marine food chain from algae to mysids to fish. They found that more hydrophobic nanoplastics accumulated at significantly higher levels in organisms at each stage of the food chain, suggesting that surface properties play an important role in determining how nanoplastics bioaccumulate in marine ecosystems.