Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastic Exposure Across Trophic Levels: Effects on the Host Microbiota of Freshwater Organisms

Researchers investigated how microplastic exposure affects the gut bacteria communities of freshwater organisms including fish, invertebrates, and crustaceans. Microplastics—particularly when combined with pesticides—altered gut microbiota composition, which could impair digestion, immunity, and overall health of freshwater species.

2021 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Exposure Across Trophic Levels: Effects on the Host-microbiota of Freshwater Organisms

Researchers found that exposure to 1 µm microplastic beads and the pesticide deltamethrin caused carry-over reductions in microbiome diversity and abundance across a three-level freshwater food chain of daphnids, damselfly larvae, and dragonfly larvae.

2022 Research Square (Research Square) 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on Daphnia-associated microbiomes in situ and in vitro

This study investigated how microplastic exposure alters the microbiome associated with Daphnia in freshwater, finding shifts in bacterial community composition that may affect host health and ecological function. The results suggest that microplastics can indirectly harm zooplankton by disrupting their microbial symbionts.

2024
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicity of microplastics to freshwater biota: Considering exposure and hazard across trophic levels

This review examines the toxic effects of microplastics on freshwater organisms across multiple levels of the food web, from biofilms and plankton to fish and amphibians. Researchers found evidence of harm in several species, though effects varied widely depending on particle size, type, and concentration. The study highlights that freshwater microplastic toxicity is still poorly understood compared to marine environments and calls for more standardized research.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 150 citations
Article Tier 2

The effects of exposure to microplastics and pollutants on the arthropod microbiome

This thesis investigated how microplastics and other pollutants (pesticides, detergents, metals) affect the gut microbiome of freshwater invertebrates. Disruption of the host-microbiome relationship by microplastics could impair immune function and overall health in aquatic organisms that form important parts of the food web.

2021 Digital comprehensive summaries of Uppsala dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology
Article Tier 2

Microplastic profusion in food and drinking water: are microplastics becoming a macroproblem?

This review examined the prevalence of microplastics in food and drinking water, assessing trophic transfer along the food web and evaluating whether microplastic contamination in human dietary sources constitutes a growing public health concern.

2022 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastics in our water: Fish microbiomes at risk?

This review examined how microplastics and leached plasticizers affect the gut microbiomes of freshwater and marine fish, summarizing evidence for dysbiosis and reduced microbial diversity and discussing potential consequences for fish immunity, metabolism, and environmental fitness.

2021 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D Genomics and Proteomics 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics abundance in abiotic and biotic components along aquatic food chain in two freshwater ecosystems of Pakistan

Researchers quantified microplastic abundance across multiple trophic levels in two Pakistani freshwater ecosystems, finding evidence of bioaccumulation along the food chain from water and sediment through invertebrates to fish species.

2022 Chemosphere 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Multi stress system: Microplastics in freshwater and their effects on host microbiota

This study examined how combined exposure to microplastics and organic chemical pollutants affects freshwater organisms through a multi-stress approach, focusing on gut microbiome changes as an indicator. Microplastic exposure in combination with other pollutants altered microbiome composition more than either stressor alone, with potential consequences for host fitness and disease resistance.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination across trophic levels in a lowland spring watercourse of Northwestern Italy: New insights and biomonitoring implications

Microplastic contamination was measured across trophic levels (algae, invertebrates, fish) in a lowland river ecosystem, finding that concentrations increased in organisms at higher levels of the food web. The trophic transfer data suggest that microplastics bioaccumulate through freshwater food chains.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Important ecological processes are affected by the accumulation and trophic transfer of nanoplastics in a freshwater periphyton-grazer food chain

Researchers found that nanoplastics bioaccumulate and transfer trophically in a freshwater periphyton-grazer food chain, affecting fundamental ecological processes and highlighting significant gaps in our understanding of nanoplastic risks in freshwater ecosystems.

2022 Environmental Science Nano 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as an aquatic pollutant affect gut microbiota within aquatic animals

This review examined how microplastics affect the gut microbiota of aquatic animals, analyzing the roles of plastic-associated chemicals and biofilms in disrupting microbial communities from ingestion through physiological impacts.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 109 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the trophic transfer and effects of microplastics in freshwater ecosystems: A focus on Bellamya aeruginosa to Mylopharyngodon piceus

This study tracked how microplastics transfer through a freshwater food chain, from snails to a commercially important fish species in China. The fish steadily accumulated microplastics over five weeks of eating contaminated snails, with particles moving from the gut into muscle tissue and altering gut bacteria to include more potentially harmful species -- highlighting how microplastics in aquatic food chains could ultimately reach people who eat fish.

2024 Environmental Pollution 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of a microplastic mixture differ across trophic levels and taxa in a freshwater food web: In situ mesocosm experiment

Researchers conducted the first in situ mesocosm experiment testing the effects of a microplastic mixture on a freshwater lake food web, spanning multiple trophic levels. The study found that microplastic effects varied across different organisms and trophic levels, providing important community-level evidence that laboratory findings may not fully predict how microplastics impact real aquatic ecosystems.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 58 citations
Article Tier 2

How microplastics influence the health and microbiota of aquatic invertebrates: A review

This review examines how microplastics affect the health and microbiota of aquatic invertebrates, an area that has received less attention than fish studies. Researchers summarize evidence showing that microplastics cause toxicity at biological and molecular levels, alter microbial communities associated with invertebrate hosts, and interact with climate change and other pollutants to produce combined effects. The study highlights significant knowledge gaps and proposes future research directions for understanding microplastic impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

2025 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Multi-omics association pattern between gut microbiota and host metabolism of a filter-feeding fish in situ exposed to microplastics

Scientists exposed filter-feeding fish to environmentally realistic levels of microplastics and found that the particles reshaped gut bacteria communities, which in turn altered the fish's liver metabolism through changes in amino acid processing. This gut-microbiome-to-organ connection matters because it shows microplastics may affect human health not just through direct toxicity but by disrupting the beneficial bacteria in our digestive systems.

2025 Environment International 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Tracing the invisible microplastics in river water and fish organs and its implication of riverine ecosystem integrity

Researchers analyzed microplastics in river water and fish organ tissues from a river in South Asia, finding contamination throughout the aquatic food web. The study used the plastisphere framework to discuss how microbial communities colonizing microplastics may influence particle fate and biological effects.

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

Microplastics impact simple aquatic food web dynamics through reduced zooplankton feeding and potentially releasing algae from consumer control

Researchers investigated how environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics affect freshwater food web dynamics using two zooplankton species. The study found that microplastic exposure reduced zooplankton feeding rates, which could potentially release algae from consumer control and disrupt aquatic food chain balance.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 55 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in freshwater ecosystems : effects and drivers

This thesis assessed how microplastic exposure affects freshwater microorganisms, macroinvertebrates, and other organisms in freshwater ecosystems, finding that microplastics are a pervasive contaminant of freshwater environments with unclear but potentially significant ecological impacts.

2024 Acta universitatis agriculturae Sueciae
Article Tier 2

The Effects of Microplastics on the Human Food Chain and Freshwater Ecosystem

This review examines how microplastic pollution affects freshwater ecosystems and the human food chain, tracing the transfer of MPs from contaminated water through aquatic organisms to human consumers and evaluating the cumulative health risks of dietary plastic exposure.

2025
Article Tier 2

The Effect of Microplastics on Microbial Succession at Impaired and Unimpaired Sites in a Riverine System

Researchers compared microbial biofilm diversity on microplastic polymers and natural substrates at impaired and unimpaired riverine sites, examining how environmental nutrient loads, seasonality, and geography influence microbiome succession on plastic surfaces in freshwater ecosystems.

2024
Article Tier 2

Trophic Transfer and Accumulation of Microplastics in Freshwater Ecosystem: Risk to Food Security and Human Health

This review examined the trophic transfer and accumulation of microplastics through freshwater food chains, highlighting the risks to food security and human health as plastic particles biomagnify from lower to higher trophic levels.

2022 International Journal of Ecology 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Stable Isotope Insights into Microplastic Contamination within Freshwater Food Webs

Stable isotope analysis was used to explore the relationship between trophic position and microplastic ingestion in freshwater macroinvertebrates and fish. The study found that trophic niche influenced microplastic accumulation patterns, with particles ranging from 700 micrometers to 5 mm quantified across taxa in the freshwater food web.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 82 citations
Article Tier 2

Direct and indirect ecological impacts of microplastic fibers on host-parasite and host-microbiota interactions

Researchers experimentally tested how polyester microplastic fibers of two sizes affect trematode parasite infection rates and gut microbiome composition in leopard frog tadpoles. Microplastic fibers altered both host-parasite dynamics and microbiota structure in size-dependent ways, demonstrating that plastic fiber pollution has cascading effects on freshwater ecological interactions.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology