Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Heatwaves increase the polystyrene nanoplastic-induced toxicity to marine diatoms through interfacial interaction regulation

Researchers found that marine heatwaves significantly worsen the toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on an important ocean diatom species. The higher temperatures weakened the algal cell walls and increased nanoplastic adhesion, leading to greater membrane damage and reduced photosynthesis and carbon absorption. The findings suggest that climate change and plastic pollution together may pose a compounding threat to ocean productivity.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene Plastic Particles Result in Adverse Outcomes for Hyalella azteca When Exposed at Elevated Temperatures

Experiments with the amphipod Hyalella azteca showed that polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics caused greater adverse effects at elevated water temperatures, suggesting that climate warming could amplify the ecotoxicological impacts of plastic pollution.

2024 Water
Article Tier 2

The synergic toxicity of temperature increases and nanopolystrene on zebrafish brain implies that global warming may worsen the current risk based on plastic debris

Researchers combined a 1°C water temperature increase with polystyrene nanoplastic exposure in zebrafish and found synergistic disruption of circadian rhythms, brain metabolomics, and behavior — with Raman spectroscopy confirming nanoplastic accumulation in brain tissue — suggesting that global warming may substantially amplify the neurological risks of plastic nanoparticle pollution.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics and ocean warming: Combined impact on physiology and surface properties of the marine microalga Dunaliella tertiolecta

Researchers investigated whether ocean warming amplifies the toxicity of amine-modified polystyrene nanoplastics in the marine microalga Dunaliella tertiolecta. Elevated temperature increased nanoplastic toxicity, worsening reactive oxygen species production, oxidative stress, and cell surface changes, suggesting climate change will intensify nanoplastic hazards to marine primary producers.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Global warming enhances nanoplastics toxicity: Insights into body shrinkage and energy deficit

Researchers studied how warming temperatures affect the toxicity of nanoplastics in water fleas over three generations. They found that elevated temperatures significantly worsened the harmful effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on growth, reproduction, and behavior. The underlying mechanism involved disruption of the animals' chitin-based exoskeleton development and energy metabolism, suggesting that climate change may amplify the ecological risks posed by nanoplastic pollution.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Meta-analysis reveals temperature increase exacerbates microplastic toxicity in freshwater invertebrates

This meta-analysis pools data from multiple studies to show that rising temperatures make microplastics more toxic to freshwater invertebrates. The combined stress of warming water and plastic pollution caused greater harm to growth, reproduction, and survival than either stressor alone, suggesting that climate change will worsen the ecological and health impacts of microplastic contamination.

2025 Environmental Sciences Europe 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Global warming and nanoplastic toxicity; small temperature increases can make gill and liver toxicity more dramatic, which affects fillet quality caused by polystyrene nanoplastics in the adult zebrafish model

Researchers exposed zebrafish to polystyrene nanoplastics at slightly elevated water temperatures and found that warming made gill and liver damage significantly worse. The combined stress of nanoplastics and higher temperatures caused more severe tissue changes and reduced fillet quality. This study suggests that as global temperatures rise, the harmful effects of nanoplastic pollution on fish and seafood quality could intensify.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of polystyrene microplastics and thermal stress on the freshwater mussel Dreissena polymorpha

Freshwater mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) exposed simultaneously to elevated temperature and microplastics showed greater immune suppression and oxidative stress than mussels exposed to either stressor alone, suggesting climate change warming will amplify microplastic toxicity in freshwater ecosystems.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 78 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of global warming and microplastic exposure from individual to populational levels of a benthic copepod

This study assessed the combined effects of global warming and microplastic exposure on freshwater and marine organisms across individual and population levels, examining how climate and plastic pollution interact as co-occurring stressors. Results showed that warming conditions modified microplastic toxicity in ways that suggest climate change will alter the ecological risk of plastic pollution in aquatic systems.

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

Combined effects of nanoplastics and elevated temperature in the freshwater water flea Daphnia magna

This study found that polystyrene nanoplastics became more toxic to water fleas (Daphnia magna) at higher temperatures, causing more oxidative stress and a greater drop in reproduction. Warmer conditions increased how much plastic the organisms absorbed and accumulated. The findings suggest that as global temperatures rise, the harmful effects of nanoplastic pollution on aquatic life could get worse, potentially affecting species that are important food sources for fish.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastics impact the bioenergetics of developing zebrafish and limit molecular and physiological adaptive responses to acute temperature stress

Researchers studied how polystyrene nanoplastics affect developing zebrafish under heat stress conditions and found that the combination impairs energy production at the cellular level. While nanoplastics alone did not visibly alter development, they reduced mitochondrial efficiency and limited the fish's ability to adapt to rising temperatures. The findings suggest that nanoplastic pollution could make aquatic organisms more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Synergistic toxic effects of polyvinyl chloride nano-plastics and the anticipated global temperature rise in Nile tilapia

Scientists found that tiny plastic particles (nano-plastics) become much more harmful to fish when combined with warmer water temperatures like those expected from climate change. The plastic and heat together damaged the fish's blood, brain function, and DNA more severely than either threat alone. This matters because humans also consume fish and are exposed to nano-plastics, suggesting we could face similar health risks as our planet warms and plastic pollution increases.

2026 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
Article Tier 2

Research progress in ecotoxicology of climate change coupled with marine pollutions

This review examined how rising ocean temperatures and acidification from climate change interact with marine pollutants including microplastics, finding that combined stressors often produce worse effects than either alone. The research underscores that plastic pollution cannot be addressed in isolation from the broader context of global climate change.

2017 Chinese Science Bulletin (Chinese Version) 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Different patterns of hypoxia aggravate the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in the mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis: Environmental risk assessment of plastics under global climate change

Researchers found that different patterns of hypoxia significantly aggravate the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in mussels, suggesting that climate change-driven oxygen depletion could amplify the environmental risks of plastic pollution in marine ecosystems.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 32 citations
Article Tier 2

The combined effects of polystyrene microplastics and temperature stress on Mytilus galloprovincialis, Lamarck, 1819

Researchers investigated the combined effects of polystyrene microplastics and rising water temperatures on Mediterranean mussels. The study found that microplastic exposure amplified temperature-related stress, leading to increased mortality, greater oxidative damage, and more severe tissue changes, suggesting that these two environmental stressors interact to worsen harm to marine organisms.

2026 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of global warming and microplastic exposure from individual to populational levels of a benthic copepod

This study examined the combined effects of global warming and microplastic exposure on aquatic organisms from the individual to the population level, investigating how these two co-occurring stressors interact. Warming amplified some microplastic effects, suggesting that climate change will exacerbate the ecological consequences of plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems.

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

Plastic pollution amplified by a warming climate

Researchers examined the connection between climate change and plastic pollution, finding that rising temperatures accelerate plastic degradation and microplastic generation, meaning that as the planet warms, the microplastic problem is likely to get worse faster.

2024 Nature Communications 75 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics effects in a multiple stressed marine environment

Researchers examined how micro- and nanoplastics interact with other environmental stressors in marine settings, finding that realistic multi-stressor scenarios can amplify or modify plastic toxicity in ways single-exposure studies miss.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Oysters under anthropogenic pressure: A cellular perspective on the interactive effects of microplastic pollution and climate change

Researchers exposed oysters to microplastics under combined conditions of elevated temperature and ocean acidification, finding that climate change stressors significantly altered the cellular response to MP pollution. Temperature had a stronger effect than acidification, and combined stressors produced non-additive interactions in immune and oxidative stress markers.

2025 Media (https://www.suub.uni-bremen.de/)
Meta Analysis Tier 1

The Interplay Between Climate Warming Driven by Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Ecotoxicological Effects of Microplastics: Insights From a Meta‐Analysis

This meta-analysis pools data from multiple studies to explore how climate change and microplastic pollution interact and worsen each other's environmental effects. The findings suggest that warming temperatures may increase the toxicity and breakdown of microplastics, potentially amplifying health and ecological risks as the climate continues to change.

2025 Global Change Biology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

A temperature-dependent three-compartment toxicokinetic model for assessing bioavailability of microplastic-associated pollutants

Researchers developed a mathematical model to predict how rising water temperatures affect the ability of microplastics to deliver toxic pollutants into the bodies of fish and other cold-blooded animals. They found that warmer temperatures significantly increased the amount of pollutant that transferred from microplastics into intestinal cells, suggesting that climate change could amplify the health risks posed by microplastic contamination in aquatic ecosystems. The model provides a new tool for identifying which combinations of microplastic type and pollutant pose the highest risk under warming conditions.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Interactive effects between water temperature, microparticle compositions, and fiber types on the marine keystone species Americamysis bahia

Scientists studied how rising water temperatures interact with different types of microparticles and fibers to affect mysid shrimp, a key species in marine food webs. Researchers found that the combination of warmer water and microplastic exposure produced more severe effects than either stressor alone. The study suggests that climate change could amplify the harmful impact of microplastic pollution on important marine organisms.

2024 Environmental Pollution 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and low tide warming: Metabolic disorders in intertidal Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas)

Researchers exposed Pacific oysters to environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics during a simulated tidal cycle and then subjected them to warming during low tide. They found that microplastic exposure disrupted the oysters' metabolism and made them more vulnerable to heat stress, with effects worsening over time even at very low particle concentrations. The study suggests that microplastic pollution may reduce the ability of intertidal shellfish to cope with rising temperatures.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics increases the heat tolerance of Daphnia magna under global warming via hormetic effects

Daphnia magna exposed to microplastics under fluctuating daily temperature conditions (simulating global warming) showed increased heat tolerance compared to control animals, suggesting a complex interaction between thermal stress and microplastic exposure. The study cautions that standard single-temperature risk assessments may underestimate or mischaracterize microplastic effects under climate change.

2022 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 19 citations