Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics on Aquatic Animals: A Case Study on Daphnia

Researchers exposed Daphnia water fleas to ten types of virgin plastic materials (HDPE, LDPE, PA, PVC, PP, PS, TPU, etc.) and measured survival, reproduction, and behavioral endpoints, finding that PVC and certain engineering plastics caused the greatest acute toxicity while softer polyolefins had lower effects.

2025 Journal of Natural Science Review
Article Tier 2

Effects of Different Microplastic Types and Surfactant-Microplastic Mixtures Under Fasting and Feeding Conditions: A Case Study on Daphnia magna

Daphnia magna were exposed to PP, PE, PVC, and PVC/PE microplastics alone and mixed with surfactants under fasting and feeding conditions, with results showing that homo-agglomeration of plastic particles caused mortality and immobilization, PVC combined with surfactant was most toxic, and food presence reduced effects. The study demonstrates that microplastic type, surface chemistry, and food availability all interact to determine ecotoxicity.

2019 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 76 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecological fitness impairments induced by chronic exposure to polyvinyl chloride nanospheres in Daphnia magna

Researchers exposed the freshwater organism Daphnia magna to environmentally relevant concentrations of polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene nanoplastics over 21 days. They found that PVC nanoplastics caused greater impairments to growth, reproduction, and overall ecological fitness compared to polystyrene particles of similar size. The study suggests that the chemical composition of nanoplastics, not just their size, plays a significant role in determining their toxicity to aquatic organisms.

2024 Heliyon 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics on Reproduction and Growth of Freshwater Live Feeds Daphnia magna

Researchers found that microplastic exposure negatively affected reproduction and juvenile growth in Daphnia magna, a key freshwater zooplankton species, with effects worsening at higher concentrations and posing risks for aquatic food chains.

2022 Fishes 35 citations
Review Tier 2

Review on the ecotoxicological impacts of plastic pollution on the freshwater invertebrate Daphnia

This review examines the ecotoxicological impacts of plastic pollution on the freshwater invertebrate Daphnia, a widely used model organism. Researchers highlight that microplastics affect Daphnia reproduction, growth, and survival, and that chemicals leaching from plastics may contribute additional toxic effects that transfer through food webs.

2022 Environmental Toxicology 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Exposure to Cadmium, Microplastics, and Their Mixture on Survival, Growth, Feeding, and Life History of Daphnia magna

Researchers examined how polyethylene microplastics altered cadmium toxicity to Daphnia magna, finding that microplastic co-exposure modified cadmium bioavailability and affected survival, growth, feeding rates, and reproductive outcomes in this ecologically important species.

2023 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyvinyl chloride microplastics on reproduction, oxidative stress and reproduction and detoxification-related genes in Daphnia magna

Researchers exposed water fleas (Daphnia magna) to PVC microplastics of two different sizes and measured effects on reproduction, oxidative stress, and gene expression. They found that smaller microplastics caused greater reproductive impairment and stronger oxidative stress responses, along with changes in genes related to reproduction and detoxification. The study demonstrates that microplastic size is an important factor in determining toxicity to freshwater invertebrates.

2022 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 78 citations
Article Tier 2

The Effects of Polyethylene and Polypropylene Microplastics on Daphnia dentifera

Researchers examined the effects of polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics on the body size, swim speed, and clonal growth rate of the freshwater crustacean Daphnia dentifera, assessing sublethal physiological and behavioural impacts of two common plastic polymer types.

2025 SPARK Scholarship at Parkland (Parkland College)
Article Tier 2

Effect of Polystyrene Microplastics in Different Diet Combinations on Survival, Growth and Reproduction Rates of the Water Flea (Daphnia magna)

Researchers exposed Daphnia magna water fleas to 6-micrometer fluorescent polystyrene microplastics across different diet combinations over 21 days, finding that animals fed only microplastics showed survival declines similar to starved controls and the least growth, while algae co-feeding partially mitigated but did not eliminate reproductive impacts.

2022 Microplastics 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Sublethal effects induced by different plastic nano-sized particles in Daphnia magna at environmentally relevant concentrations

Researchers tested whether nanoplastics made from three different plastics — polystyrene, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) — harm tiny water fleas called Daphnia magna at environmentally realistic concentrations, finding that PVC nanoplastics caused the most damage to both cellular health and swimming behavior. This suggests that studies focused only on polystyrene nanoplastics may be underestimating the true hazard of nanoplastic pollution.

2023 Environmental Pollution 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts and uptake of environmentally relevant microplastics by Daphnia pulex

Researchers exposed Daphnia pulex to environmentally realistic concentrations and shapes of PVC microplastics — including non-spherical forms — to assess biological impacts and uptake. The study found measurable effects on survival and reproduction at environmentally relevant exposures, with irregular-shaped microplastics presenting risks distinct from the spherical particles typically used in laboratory studies.

2025 SHAREOK (University of Oklahoma; Oklahoma State University; Central Oklahoma University)
Article Tier 2

The synergistic effect of mono and co-exposure of microplastic suspensions on Daphnia magna’s survival, population density, reproduction rate & swimming behavior.

When water fleas (Daphnia magna) were exposed to mixtures of HDPE, LDPE, and polypropylene microplastics together, the combined toxicity was substantially greater than any single polymer alone, with the mixture LC50 dropping to 77 mg/L compared to 109–123 mg/L for individual plastics. This synergistic effect — reducing survival, reproduction, and normal swimming behavior — is an important finding because organisms in nature encounter mixtures of plastic types, not just one at a time.

2023 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics enhance Daphnia magna sensitivity to the pyrethroid insecticide deltamethrin: Effects on life history traits

Researchers tested whether polyethylene microplastics alter the toxicity of the pyrethroid insecticide deltamethrin to Daphnia magna and found that microplastic presence increased sensitivity to deltamethrin, reducing survival and reproductive output at concentrations that were not toxic without microplastics.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 100 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastic particles and leaching additive on the life history and morphology of Daphnia magna

Researchers compared the chronic effects of flexible PVC microplastics containing the plasticizer DiNP versus rigid PVC without plasticizer on the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna. They found that flexible PVC increased body length and reduced offspring production, while rigid PVC and glass bead controls had no effect. The study demonstrates that the plasticizer additive leaching from microplastics, rather than the plastic particle itself, can be the primary driver of biological harm.

2019 Environmental Pollution 204 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2018 The Science of The Total Environment 398 citations
Article Tier 2

Is the development of Daphnia magna neonates affected by short-term exposure to polyethylene microplastics?

Daphnia magna neonates ingested polyethylene microplastics within the first 24 hours of exposure but showed no significant effects on mobility or molting, though food availability was a more powerful driver of development than microplastic concentration. The study highlights the importance of accounting for feeding regime when interpreting microplastic toxicity tests.

2020 Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of polystyrene microplastics on Daphnia magna: A laboratory and a mesocosm study

Laboratory tests and mesocosm experiments with Daphnia magna and polystyrene microplastics found that effects at high concentrations were more related to food dilution than direct toxicity, and population-level effects in mesocosms were minimal. The study emphasizes the importance of using realistic concentrations and multi-species systems to assess microplastic risks.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 78 citations
Article Tier 2

The interactions between microplastic polyvinyl chloride and marine diatoms: Physiological, morphological, and growth effects

Researchers investigated the toxic effects of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastics on three marine diatom species, finding that increasing PVC concentrations and exposure times disrupted photosynthetic efficiency and reduced cell density in Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Chaetoceros gracilis, and Thalassiosira sp.

2020 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 101 citations
Review Tier 2

Ecotoxicology of microplastics in Daphnia: A review focusing on microplastic properties and multiscale attributes of Daphnia

This review synthesizes research on how microplastics affect Daphnia, a key organism in aquatic food webs, across individual, population, and community levels. Researchers found that the toxicity of microplastics to Daphnia depends heavily on the physical and chemical properties of the particles, and that combined exposure with other pollutants can produce more severe effects. The study highlights Daphnia as an important indicator species for understanding how microplastic pollution cascades through aquatic ecosystems.

2022 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 71 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxic Effects of Ester Based Polymers on Daphnia Magna: a Laboratory Microcosm Study

Researchers assessed the acute and chronic toxicity of polycarbonate, PET, and polybutylene terephthalate microplastics on Daphnia magna, finding EC50 values of 2.6, 4.7, and greater than 100 mg/L respectively at 72 hours, with physiological effects observed even at low immobilization rates. The study demonstrates that ester-based polymer microplastics differ substantially in their toxicity to freshwater zooplankton.

2022 Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Negative food dilution and positive biofilm carrier effects of microplastic ingestion by D. magna cause tipping points at the population level

Experiments with Daphnia magna showed that clean microplastics reduced survival and reproduction through food dilution at high concentrations, while biofouled microplastics had a slight positive biofilm carrier effect, with the net outcome depending on the balance between these competing mechanisms.

2021 Environmental Pollution 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of polystyrene microplastics on Daphnia magna mortality and reproduction in relation to food availability

Researchers exposed the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna to polystyrene microplastics under varying food availability conditions and found that microplastic impacts on mortality and reproduction were most severe when food was limited. The study suggests that the ecological effects of microplastics on zooplankton are strongly influenced by nutritional status, with food-stressed organisms being more vulnerable to particle ingestion.

2018 PeerJ 160 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on key reproductive and biochemical endpoints of the freshwater microcrustacean Daphnia magna

Researchers studied how microplastics affect reproduction and biochemistry in the freshwater water flea Daphnia magna, a widely used indicator species. They found that microplastic exposure led to changes in reproductive output and altered key biochemical markers in these small crustaceans. The study suggests that even tiny plastic particles can disrupt important biological functions in freshwater organisms that form the base of aquatic food webs.

2024 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of chronic exposure to microplastics and microplastics associated with polychlorinated biphenyl 153 on Daphnia magna

A 21-day chronic exposure study found that polyethylene microbeads alone and in combination with PCB-153 affected survival and reproduction of Daphnia magna, with the combined exposure producing more pronounced reproductive impairment than either pollutant alone.

2023 Human and Ecological Risk Assessment An International Journal 5 citations