Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Warming and microplastic pollution shape the carbon and nitrogen cycles of algae

Researchers investigated how ocean warming combined with microplastic pollution affects carbon and nitrogen cycling in marine diatoms and dinoflagellates, revealing that these combined stressors alter key biochemical processes in dominant phytoplankton species.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 51 citations
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

The effect of microplastics pollution in microalgal biomass production: A biochemical study

Scientists exposed the marine microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum to polystyrene microplastics and found that both short- and long-term exposure at environmentally relevant concentrations disrupted biochemical composition including proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids.

2020 Water Research 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Physiological responses and altered halocarbon production in Phaeodactylum tricornutum after exposure to polystyrene microplastics

Exposure to microplastics altered physiological responses and halocarbon production in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, with implications for oceanic emissions of ozone-depleting brominated substances.

2023 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene microplastic on the growth and volatile halocarbons release of microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Researchers found that polystyrene microplastics inhibit the growth of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum and significantly alter the release of volatile halocarbons, including trihalomethanes, raising concerns about microplastic impacts on oceanic climate-active trace gas production.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactive effects of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) microplastics and salinity variation on a marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Researchers found that PMMA microplastics combined with salinity stress had interactive toxic effects on the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, with combined stressors causing greater growth inhibition and oxidative damage than either factor alone.

2021 Chemosphere 35 citations
Article Tier 2

The combined effects of ocean warming and microplastic pollution on marine phytoplankton community dynamics

Researchers studied the combined effects of microplastic pollution and rising ocean temperatures on tiny marine plants called phytoplankton. While microplastics alone had minimal impact at current temperatures, when combined with warmer water conditions, phytoplankton biomass dropped by 41% and diversity fell by nearly 39%. The study suggests that climate change may dramatically amplify the harmful effects of microplastic pollution on the ocean organisms responsible for a significant portion of global carbon capture.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Dual impacts of elevated pCO2 on the ecological effects induced by microplastics and nanoplastics: A study with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Researchers examined how freshwater acidification from elevated carbon dioxide interacts with polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics to affect a common green algae species. They found that smaller nanoplastics caused greater harm than larger microplastics, primarily through oxidative stress, while acidification alone actually promoted algal growth. The study reveals that climate change and plastic pollution can interact in unexpected ways, with acidification sometimes masking or modifying the toxic effects of plastic particles.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene and triphenyl phosphate on growth, photosynthesis and oxidative stress of Chaetoceros meülleri

Researchers studied the single and combined toxicity of polystyrene microplastics and the flame retardant triphenyl phosphate on the marine diatom Chaetoceros muelleri. Both pollutants individually inhibited cell growth and increased oxidative stress, while their combined exposure produced interactive effects on photosynthesis and cell membrane integrity. The study suggests that microplastics and their associated chemical additives can jointly impact the health of marine microalgae at the base of the food web.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Antagonistic and synergistic effects of warming and microplastics on microalgae: Case study of the red tide species Prorocentrum donghaiense

Researchers exposed the red tide microalgae Prorocentrum donghaiense to different microplastic concentrations and temperatures, finding that microplastics significantly suppressed growth and photosynthesis at 16 degrees C but that higher temperatures (22 and 28 degrees C) partially counteracted these effects at low microplastic doses. The antagonistic and synergistic outcomes of combined warming and microplastic exposure depended on microplastic concentration.

2022 Environmental Pollution 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined Effects of Microplastics and Benzo[a]pyrene on the Marine Diatom Chaetoceros muelleri

Researchers investigated the combined effects of microplastics and benzo[a]pyrene on marine diatoms, finding that co-exposure altered toxicity outcomes compared to individual exposures, with effects varying depending on microplastic polymer type and size.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics induced the differential responses of microbial-driven soil carbon and nitrogen cycles under warming

Researchers examined how the combination of microplastic pollution and warming temperatures affects soil carbon and nitrogen cycling driven by microbial communities. The study found that microplastics altered microbial responses to warming in ways that disrupted both carbon decomposition and nitrogen transformation processes in soil.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics trigger the Matthew effect on nitrogen assimilation in marine diatoms at an environmentally relevant concentration

This study found that environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics triggered a Matthew effect on nitrogen assimilation in marine diatoms, where nutrient-rich conditions amplified microplastic-induced changes in nitrogen uptake, potentially disrupting marine nitrogen cycling and primary productivity.

2023 Water Research 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene microplastics at environmentally realistic concentrations exacerbate diatom blooms caused by phosphorus pollution: Rethinking coastal eutrophication

Researchers found that polystyrene microplastics at environmentally realistic concentrations exacerbate diatom blooms caused by phosphorus pollution in coastal waters, suggesting that microplastics and eutrophication act synergistically to worsen algal bloom events. The findings challenge the assumption that coastal eutrophication is driven solely by nutrient enrichment and highlight microplastics as a cofactor in bloom dynamics.

2025 Water Research
Article Tier 2

Combined Exposure of Microplastics and Climate Warming Affects the Bacteria-Driven Macrophyte Litter Decomposition in an Urban Lake

Researchers conducted a 30-day microcosm experiment to study how climate warming and polystyrene microplastics interact to affect plant litter decomposition in lake ecosystems. The study found that combined warming and high microplastic concentrations promoted litter decomposition by increasing bacterial biomass and diversity, but also raised concerns by boosting potentially harmful bacteria on microplastic surfaces.

2026 Environmental Management
Article Tier 2

Warming coupled with elevated pCO2 modulates microplastic inhibition in a commercial red alga Pyropia haitanensis

Researchers cultured the commercially important red seaweed Pyropia haitanensis under elevated CO₂, warming, and a range of microplastic concentrations, finding that microplastics caused strong concentration-dependent stress on growth and photosynthesis, but that elevated pCO₂ modulated these inhibitory effects.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Each temperature degree counts: warming enhances polystyrene nanoplastic toxicity via metabolic disruption in a marine cellular model

This study examined how elevated water temperatures — simulating marine heatwaves — amplify the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in marine cells, finding that warming enhanced metabolic disruption caused by nanoplastics. The results suggest climate change and plastic pollution interact synergistically to harm marine organisms.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology
Article Tier 2

Warming alters temporal patterns of microbial-mediated nitrogen cycling under microplastics stress in intertidal sediment ecosystems

Researchers incubated intertidal sediment microcosms with polyethylene microplastics at two temperatures (25 and 30 degrees C) to examine how warming interacts with microplastics to alter microbial nitrogen cycling. Elevated temperature and microplastic concentrations disrupted key nitrogen-cycling functions, with metagenomic analysis revealing shifts in functional gene composition that could affect coastal nutrient dynamics.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

The Impact of Microplastics on the Growth of Skeletonema Costatum

Researchers exposed the marine diatom Skeletonema costatum to polystyrene microplastics at 0.1 and 10 mg/L, finding that both concentrations initially stimulated cell growth and chlorophyll content but also elevated antioxidant enzyme activity, indicating a stress response even when growth appeared enhanced.

2025 Environment Resource and Ecology Journal
Article Tier 2

Multi-omic insights into the cellular response of Phaeodactylum tricornutum (Bacillariophyta) strains under grazing pressure

Not relevant to microplastics — this multi-omics study examines how four strains of the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum respond to grazing pressure, finding effects on cell growth, fatty acid composition, and phenotype transformation genes.

2024 Frontiers in Plant Science 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics disrupt microalgal carbon fixation: Efficiency and underlying mechanisms

Researchers exposed the microalga Chlorella pyrenoidosa to polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride microplastics and found up to 39% inhibition of carbon fixation, driven by reduced chlorophyll content, increased oxidative stress, and downregulation of genes in the Calvin cycle and chlorophyll metabolism, with implications for aquatic carbon cycling.

2026 Journal of Environmental Management
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
Article Tier 2

Metabolism and Transcriptome Stress in Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum for Value‐Added Products

Researchers investigated how microplastic exposure acts as an environmental stressor on the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, examining transcriptomic and metabolic responses including upregulation of genes involved in lipid and fucoxanthin biosynthesis that could be leveraged for value-added bioproduct applications.

2025
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1) on physiological performance of marine diatom Thalassiosira minima

Scientists studied how polystyrene nanoplastics and a marine algal toxin called dinophysistoxin-1 affect a common ocean diatom, both individually and in combination. The nanoplastics alone reduced diatom growth by over 50%, while the toxin reduced it by 22%, but when combined, the nanoplastics actually absorbed some of the toxin and partially offset its effects. The study suggests that nanoplastic pollution in coastal waters creates complex, unpredictable interactions with other marine contaminants that could disrupt the base of the ocean food chain.

2025 Water Research 3 citations