Papers

20 results
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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

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
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

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

Effects of Microplastics on Living Organisms and their Trophic Transfer: An Ecotoxicological Review

This ecotoxicological review examines the effects of microplastics on living organisms across multiple trophic levels and their transfer through food webs, covering evidence from aquatic and terrestrial environments. The authors highlight the cumulative risks posed by microplastic ingestion and tissue accumulation.

2023 Futuristic Biotechnology 3 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 move through marine food webs via trophic transfer and carry chemical contaminants that can accumulate in higher predators, including humans. Researchers found that microplastics readily sorb pollutants from surrounding waters and release them after being ingested by organisms, potentially amplifying toxic effects at each level of the food chain. The study underscores the need for more research on bioaccumulation factors and the implications of seafood-mediated microplastic exposure for human health.

2018 Environment International 1310 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

Microplastics and Their Impacts on Organisms and Trophic Chains

This review synthesizes current knowledge on microplastic pollution, examining the mechanisms by which microplastics affect organisms at multiple levels of biological organization and how plastic particles transfer through trophic chains, accumulating and potentially magnifying in concentration up the food web. Researchers highlight evidence for physical, chemical, and microbial impacts on organisms ranging from invertebrates to mammals, including humans, and identify priority areas for future ecotoxicological research.

2022 Water 8 citations
Article Tier 2

The Impact of Microplastic Bioaccumulation on Marine Ecosystems

This review examined the bioaccumulation of microplastics in marine ecosystems, tracing MP uptake from zooplankton to fish to marine mammals and discussing the ecological disruptions caused by plastic accumulation across food webs. It called for integrated solutions addressing MP pollution at both the source and ecosystem levels.

2024 Theoretical and Natural Science
Article Tier 2

Effect of alternative natural diet on microplastic ingestion, functional responses and trophic transfer in a tri-trophic coastal pelagic food web

Researchers studied how microplastics move through a three-level marine food chain, from zooplankton prey to planktivorous fish, and how the availability of natural food affects microplastic ingestion. When natural food was scarce, organisms consumed more microplastics, and the particles transferred efficiently up the food chain. This study demonstrates that microplastics in the ocean can accumulate through the food web and reach fish species that humans commonly eat.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 16 citations
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

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
Review Tier 2

How plastic debris and associated chemicals impact the marine food web: A review.

This review examined how plastic debris and associated chemicals disrupt marine food webs at all trophic levels, from physical entanglement and false satiation in megafauna to microplastic ingestion and chemical transfer through trophic magnification, concluding that plastic contamination poses systemic threats to marine ecosystem function.

2023 Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
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

Environmental toxicology of marine microplastic pollution

This review summarized a decade of research on the environmental toxicology of marine microplastic pollution across different ocean organisms and trophic levels. Researchers found that microplastics can accumulate in marine life from phytoplankton to fish, causing molecular, metabolic, and physiological harm. The study emphasizes that understanding these toxic effects is essential for assessing the broader ecological risks of plastic pollution in ocean environments.

2023 Cambridge Prisms Plastics 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Describing the Accumulation, Concentration, and Amplification Effects of MPs Through the Food Chain

This review examines evidence for microplastic accumulation, concentration, and amplification through food chains from primary producers to predators. The authors discuss the degree to which trophic transfer leads to biomagnification of plastic particles and co-adsorbed chemical contaminants, with implications for wildlife and human dietary exposure.

2024 Current Nutrition & Food Science 1 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2026 ACS Nano
Article Tier 2

Polymer composition of microplastics in marine organisms across trophic levels

Researchers reviewed data from 16 studies to examine which types of microplastics are found in marine organisms across different levels of the food chain. They found that polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate were the most common polymers, with accumulation patterns varying between herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores. The study highlights how microplastic contamination is widespread throughout marine food webs, raising concerns about potential transfer to humans through seafood consumption.

2025 BIO Web of Conferences 2 citations
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 microplastics in the aquatic ecosystem of Sundarbans mangrove forest, Bangladesh

Researchers sampled organisms across four trophic levels in the aquatic ecosystem of the Sundarbans mangrove forest in Bangladesh, finding microplastic abundance increased with trophic level from an average of 0.56 items per primary consumer to 4.17 items per quaternary consumer. The positive correlation between microplastic abundance and trophic level confirmed trophic transfer across the food web.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 77 citations