Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Warming, temperature fluctuations and thermal evolution change the effects of microplastics at an environmentally relevant concentration

Researchers examined how warming temperatures, daily temperature fluctuations, and thermal evolutionary history influence the effects of microplastics on the water flea Daphnia magna. They found that while microplastics had almost no effect under standard laboratory temperature conditions, exposure under more realistic warming scenarios caused significant changes to reproduction, heart rate, and swimming behaviour. The study suggests that current risk assessments conducted at constant laboratory temperatures may substantially underestimate the ecological impact of microplastic pollution.

2021 Environmental Pollution 59 citations
Article Tier 2

The thermal regime modifies the response of aquatic keystone species Daphnia to microplastics: Evidence from population fitness, accumulation, histopathological analysis and candidate gene expression

Researchers found that temperature plays a key role in how toxic microplastics are to the water flea Daphnia magna. Microplastic exposure caused increased mortality, reduced reproduction, and slower population growth, with these negative effects becoming much more pronounced at higher temperatures. The study suggests that warming water temperatures due to climate change may amplify the harmful impacts of microplastic pollution on aquatic ecosystems.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic burden in Daphnia is aggravated by elevated temperatures

Daphnia magna and Daphnia pulex were exposed to 1-micrometer polystyrene spheres at 200 ng per liter under varying food supply and temperature conditions to assess how environmental factors modify microplastic ingestion and harm. Elevated temperature aggravated the burden of microplastic accumulation, suggesting that climate warming may increase microplastic risks to freshwater zooplankton.

2020 Zoology 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Long-term adverse effects of microplastics on Daphnia magna reproduction and population growth rate at increased water temperature and light intensity: Combined effects of stressors and interactions

Researchers investigated how increased water temperature and light intensity affect the long-term toxicity of microplastics to the water flea Daphnia magna. They found that microplastics caused mortality, reduced growth, and decreased reproduction across all conditions, but these effects were significantly worsened by both higher temperature and brighter light. The study suggests that climate change factors may synergistically amplify the harmful impacts of microplastic pollution on freshwater zooplankton.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 82 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

Temperature and clone-dependent effects of microplastics on immunity and life history in Daphnia magna

Eight genetic clones of Daphnia magna were exposed to 500 nm polystyrene microspheres at two temperatures, with microplastics altering phenotypes in half the clones—producing smaller offspring and more offspring at high temperature—while other clones showed no response. The results demonstrate that genetic background and temperature both modulate how individual organisms respond to microplastic exposure.

2019 Environmental Pollution 84 citations
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

Warming temperatures exacerbate effects of microplastics in a widespread zooplankton species.

This study found that warmer water temperatures made microplastics significantly more harmful to Daphnia (water fleas), reducing their survival and reproduction at 20 and 24 degrees Celsius but not at 12 degrees. The combination of warming temperatures and microplastic pollution was worse than either stressor alone. As climate change warms lakes and rivers, this research suggests that the toxic effects of microplastic pollution on aquatic ecosystems, and the food chains humans depend on, may get worse.

2024 Environmental Pollution 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Local thermal adaption mediates the sensitivity of Daphnia magna to nanoplastics under global warming scenarios

Researchers investigated how local thermal adaptation in water fleas (Daphnia magna) affects their sensitivity to polystyrene nanoplastics under different temperature regimes. They found that populations adapted to warmer environments showed different vulnerability to nanoplastic toxicity compared to cold-adapted populations, particularly under fluctuating temperatures. The study suggests that evolutionary history and temperature variability are important factors when assessing the ecological risks of nanoplastics under climate change scenarios.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
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

Physiological and behavioural responses of aquatic organisms to microplastics and experimental warming

Researchers tested how microplastic exposure combined with different water temperatures affected the breathing, feeding, and movement of two common freshwater invertebrates. They found that while temperature had strong effects on all measured behaviors, microplastics caused additional changes in feeding rates and movement patterns that varied between species. The study highlights that the biological effects of microplastics may be amplified or altered under warming climate conditions.

2025 Environmental Pollution 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Elevated temperature enhanced lethal and sublethal acute toxicity of polyethylene microplastic fragments in Daphnia magna

Researchers found that polyethylene microplastic fragments were over 70 times more toxic to water fleas than spherical microplastic beads of similar size, and that elevated water temperatures made the toxicity even worse. At 25 degrees Celsius compared to 20 degrees, the lethal effects of the fragments increased substantially, and the organisms also showed greater reproductive impairment. The study demonstrates that both the shape of microplastics and rising temperatures due to climate change can dramatically amplify their harmful effects on freshwater organisms.

2023 Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Thresholds and interactive effects of BPA-gradient and temperature on life history traits of Daphnia magna

Researchers studied how bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in plastic production, affects water fleas at different temperatures. BPA was more toxic when transferred through the food chain rather than just present in water, and its effects changed depending on temperature conditions. This study shows that climate change could make plastic-related chemical pollution more dangerous for aquatic organisms, with potential ripple effects up the food chain toward human food sources.

2024 Environmental Pollution 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrating microplastics into thermal biology in an insect

Researchers fed field crickets nylon microfilaments at different temperatures to assess how warming and microplastic exposure interact, finding that while warmer animals ate more, they did not absorb more microplastics, but microplastic consumption shifted resource allocation toward self-maintenance at the expense of desiccation tolerance and reproduction.

2026 Ecotoxicology
Article Tier 2

Interactive effects of warming and microplastics on metabolism but not feeding rates of a key freshwater detritivore

Freshwater detritivores were exposed to microplastics at environmentally realistic concentrations under two temperature conditions to separate and combine effects, finding that warming and microplastics interacted to significantly increase metabolic rates but had no combined effect on feeding rates. The results highlight the importance of considering multiple stressors when assessing freshwater organism responses to microplastics under climate change.

2019 Environmental Pollution 82 citations
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

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

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

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

Increase in temperature increases ingestion and toxicity of polyamide microplastics in Nile tilapia

Researchers found that higher water temperatures caused Nile tilapia fish to swallow significantly more microplastics and suffer worse health effects, including blood abnormalities, gill damage, and intestinal injury. At the highest temperature tested, fish ingested over three times more plastic particles than at normal temperatures. This study suggests that as climate change warms waterways, fish may accumulate more microplastics, increasing the risk of human exposure through seafood.

2023 Chemosphere 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Synergistic effects of water temperature, microplastics and ammonium as second and third order stressors on Daphnia magna

Combining water temperature, microplastics, and ammonium as stressors produced synergistic negative effects on the water flea Daphnia magna, reducing its filtration capacity and survival more than any single stressor alone. The findings are relevant to wastewater treatment, where Daphnia are used to filter particles and could face such combined stressors.

2020 Environmental Pollution 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced gut damage and microbial imbalance in bullfrog tadpoles (Lithobates catesbeiana) exposed to polystyrene microplastics under high-temperature conditions

Bullfrog tadpoles exposed to polystyrene microplastics suffered gut damage and disrupted gut bacteria, and these effects were significantly worse at higher temperatures. The combination of microplastic exposure and heat stress caused more severe intestinal inflammation and oxidative damage than either stressor alone. This finding is important because it suggests that climate change could amplify the harmful effects of microplastic pollution on aquatic organisms and the ecosystems they belong to.

2025 Environmental Pollution 6 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

Warmer water, high light intensity, lithium and microplastics: Dangerous environmental combinations to zooplankton and Global Health?

Researchers examined the combined effects of warmer water, high light intensity, lithium, and microplastics on Daphnia magna, finding that environmental stressors like temperature and light amplify the long-term toxicity of lithium and lithium-microplastic mixtures to freshwater zooplankton.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 21 citations