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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Differential effects of microplastic exposure on leaf shredding rates of invasive and native amphipod crustaceans
ClearMicroplastics affect assimilation efficiency in the freshwater amphipod Gammarus fossarum
Researchers examined how two types of microplastics affect the freshwater amphipod Gammarus fossarum. The study found that microplastic exposure reduced assimilation efficiency in these invertebrates, indicating that microplastic ingestion can interfere with nutrient uptake and energy processing in freshwater organisms.
Microplastics affect interspecific interactions between cladoceran species in the absence and presence of predators by triggering asymmetric individual responses
Researchers studied how microplastics affect the competition between two species of tiny freshwater crustaceans, both with and without a predator present. Microplastics reduced feeding rates and reproduction differently in each species, shifting the competitive balance between them. The study suggests that microplastic pollution could alter species interactions in aquatic ecosystems, potentially changing which organisms thrive and which decline.
Microplastic pollution and nutrient enrichment shift the diet of freshwater macroinvertebrates
Researchers studied how microplastic pollution and excess nutrients together affect the feeding behavior of freshwater invertebrates in controlled experiments. They found that both conventional and biodegradable microplastics shifted what the organisms chose to eat, and these effects were amplified when combined with nutrient enrichment. The study suggests that microplastic pollution interacts with other common environmental stressors to alter freshwater food webs.
Microplastics alter the leaf litter breakdown rates and the decomposer community in subtropical lentic microhabitats
Researchers exposed leaf litter decomposition systems to microplastics and measured breakdown rates and decomposer community composition, finding that microplastics slowed litter breakdown and shifted the abundance of invertebrate shredders and microbial decomposers. The study suggests microplastics could disrupt nutrient cycling in freshwater ecosystems by impairing a foundational ecological process.
Effects of nanoplastic exposure routes on leaf decomposition in streams
Researchers conducted a microcosm experiment showing that dietary exposure to nanoplastics — through eating contaminated leaf litter — more severely disrupts stream food webs than waterborne exposure, reducing microbial enzyme activity, lowering leaf lipid content, and decreasing river snail feeding rates by up to 17%.
Evidence of micro and macroplastic toxicity along a stream detrital food-chain.
Both micro- and macroplastic polyethylene pieces inhibited the decomposition of leaf litter in freshwater streams, with microplastics reducing the feeding activity of stream invertebrates. Since leaf litter decomposition is a critical process that nutrients and energy flow into freshwater food webs, plastic pollution could disrupt these fundamental ecosystem functions.
Microfibre effects on the freshwater amphipod Gammarus pulex
This study tested the effects of microplastic fibers on Gammarus pulex, a shrimp-like crustacean that plays a key role in breaking down leaf litter in freshwater streams. Exposure to microfibres caused measurable harm to this important species, with potential knock-on effects for freshwater ecosystem function.
Microplastics and leaf litter decomposition dynamics: New insights from a lotic ecosystem (Northeastern Italy)
Researchers studied how microplastics affect the natural decomposition of plant litter in a freshwater stream over four seasons, finding that microplastics had a small but measurable negative effect on decomposition rates and accumulated inside the invertebrates responsible for breaking down organic matter. These findings suggest microplastic pollution subtly disrupts the nutrient cycling processes that keep freshwater ecosystems healthy.
Disentangling the influence of microplastics and their chemical additives on a model detritivore system
Researchers disentangled the physical and chemical effects of microplastics on freshwater detritivores, finding that chemical additives leaching from plastics contributed more to negative impacts on organisms than the polymer particles themselves.
Microplastics in freshwaters: Comparing effects of particle properties and an invertebrate consumer on microbial communities and ecosystem functions
Researchers tested how different microplastic properties, including concentration, shape, and polymer type, affect microbial communities and ecosystem functions in freshwater environments. They found that the presence of an invertebrate consumer had a stronger influence on microbial activity than the microplastics themselves, though high concentrations of certain particle shapes did alter community composition. The study suggests that the ecological effects of microplastics in freshwater depend heavily on the broader biological context.
Comparing effects of microplastic exposure, FPOM resource quality, and consumer density on the response of a freshwater particle feeder and associated ecosystem processes
Researchers found that realistic microplastic concentrations had minimal direct effects on freshwater particle feeders compared to the much stronger influences of food resource quality and consumer density on growth, survival, and ecosystem processes in stream microcosms.
Species-specific effects of long-term microplastic exposure on the population growth of nematodes, with a focus on microplastic ingestion
Scientists conducted long-term microplastic exposure experiments on freshwater nematode species and found species-specific effects on population growth, with ingestion rates and harm varying substantially across species despite identical exposure conditions.
Do microplastics and climate change negatively affect shredder invertebrates from an amazon stream? An ecosystem functioning perspective
Researchers experimentally tested the combined effects of microplastic pollution and climate change conditions on the survival and feeding behavior of an Amazonian freshwater shredder invertebrate. The study suggests that the combination of microplastic exposure with increased temperature and CO2 levels can negatively affect these organisms, with implications for leaf litter decomposition and ecosystem functioning in tropical streams.
The influence of microplastics pollution on the feeding behavior of a prominent sandy beach amphipod, Orchestoidea tuberculata (Nicolet, 1849)
Microplastic pollution was found to reduce feeding activity and slow growth in a beach amphipod (small crustacean), even at environmentally relevant concentrations. This suggests microplastics can disrupt energy balance and population health in small invertebrates that play important roles in sandy beach ecosystems.
Microplastics in freshwater sediments: Effects on benthic invertebrate communities and ecosystem functioning assessed in artificial streams
Researchers tested the effects of polyethylene microplastics on freshwater invertebrate communities in artificial streams using environmentally relevant concentrations. They found that microplastics significantly reduced the abundance of deposit-feeding and grazing organisms by 31-50%, with chironomids and mayflies showing the highest ingestion of plastic particles.
Top-Down Effect of Arthropod Predator Chinese Mitten Crab on Freshwater Nutrient Cycling
This study investigates how the invasive Chinese mitten crab affects freshwater nutrient cycling by preying on channeled apple snails during leaf litter decomposition. It is not about microplastics and is not relevant to microplastic research.
Effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics on amphipods
Researchers exposed two amphipod species to environmentally relevant polyethylene microplastic concentrations and found increased mortality and oxidative stress, with species-specific sensitivity suggesting ecological impacts even at low exposure levels.
Microplastics accumulation in functional feeding guilds and functional habit groups of freshwater macrobenthic invertebrates: Novel insights in a riverine ecosystem
Microplastics were found across functional feeding groups and habitat types of freshwater macroinvertebrates in an Italian river, with collector-gatherers and sediment-dwelling species showing higher contamination, confirming that dietary and behavioral ecology shapes microplastic exposure patterns in invertebrate communities.
Microplastics and riverine macroinvertebrate communities in a multiple-stressor context: A mesocosm approach
Researchers conducted a seven-week experiment using streamside channels to study how microplastics of different sizes and concentrations affect freshwater invertebrate communities, both alone and combined with fine sediment. They found that microplastic effects on invertebrate abundance and community composition were generally modest compared to the well-known impacts of sediment pollution. The study suggests that in real-world streams facing multiple stressors, microplastics may not be the dominant threat to bottom-dwelling organisms.
Assessment of Microplastic Size Range and Ingestion Intensity by Gmelinoides fasciatus Stebbing, an Invasive Species of Lake Onego
Researchers tested the ability of an invasive amphipod crustacean in Russia's Lake Onego to ingest microplastics, finding it readily consumed polystyrene particles across a range of sizes. Invasive species that readily ingest microplastics may facilitate plastic entry into native food webs.
Feeding type affects microplastic ingestion in a coastal invertebrate community
Researchers exposed a coastal Baltic Sea invertebrate community — including mussels, crustaceans, and deposit feeders — to microplastic beads at three concentrations and found that feeding mode strongly determined ingestion rates, with filter-feeding bivalves accumulating significantly more particles than deposit feeders or free-swimming crustaceans.
Polystyrene Microparticles and the Functional Traits of Invertebrates: A Case Study on Freshwater Shrimp Neocardina heteropoda
Researchers exposed freshwater shrimp to polystyrene microplastics and found measurable changes in behavioral and physiological functional traits, contributing evidence that microplastic pollution poses risks to freshwater invertebrate communities beyond the marine environments typically studied.
Microplastics have lethal and sublethal effects on stream invertebrates and affect stream ecosystem functioning
Using a mesocosm experiment, researchers showed that microplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations caused lethal and sublethal effects on freshwater invertebrates and reduced key ecosystem functions including leaf litter decomposition and algal colonization of streambed substrates.
Rapid fragmentation of microplastics by the freshwater amphipod Gammarus duebeni (Lillj.)
Researchers discovered that the freshwater amphipod Gammarus duebeni can rapidly break down polyethylene microplastics into smaller fragments, including nanoplastics, during its feeding process. The fragmentation was closely linked to feeding behavior, with more and smaller fragments produced when food was present during depuration. The study highlights that aquatic organisms may play a previously underestimated role in determining the environmental fate of microplastics by accelerating their breakdown into even smaller particles.