Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Combined effect of microplastics and global warming factors on early growth and development of the sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus)

Researchers studied the combined effects of microplastics, ocean acidification, and temperature increase on sea urchin larval development. Microplastics alone reduced larval growth by about 20%, but when combined with lowered pH, growth inhibition was significantly greater and morphological abnormalities appeared. The study demonstrates that microplastic pollution can compound the effects of climate change stressors on marine organisms during their most vulnerable developmental stages.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Commercially-derived Microplastics Affect Early Life Stages in Paracentrotus Lividus Sea Urchin

Commercially derived microplastics from everyday plastic products affected early life stages of Paracentrotus lividus sea urchins, reducing fertilization success and larval development rates, with chemical additives leaching from plastic contributing to toxicity beyond particle effects alone.

2025 Journal of Biological Research - Bollettino della Società Italiana di Biologia Sperimentale
Article Tier 2

The adverse effects of virgin microplastics on the fertilization and larval development of sea urchins

Researchers tested the effects of virgin microplastics on the fertilization and larval development of a marine organism, finding adverse effects on both fertilization success and larval survival at environmentally relevant concentrations.

2017 Marine Environmental Research 170 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing the effect of microplastics on marine invertebrates: the consequence of exposure of sea urchin larvae to polystyrene microplastics

Researchers exposed sea urchin larvae (Paracentrotus lividus) to polystyrene microplastics derived from commercial disposable plates and assessed effects on fertilization, embryogenesis, and larval development, finding significant impairment of early developmental stages at environmentally relevant concentrations.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Global climate change increases the impact of pollutant mixtures in the model species Paracentrotus lividus

Researchers found that ocean acidification and warming conditions predicted for the next 50 years significantly increased the toxicity of chlorpyrifos and microplastics on sea urchin fertilization and larval development, suggesting climate change will amplify the impact of pollutant mixtures on marine organisms.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of microplastic toxicity to embryonic development of the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea)

Researchers assessed the toxicity of both virgin and beach-stranded plastic pellets to sea urchin embryo development. The study found that chemical substances leaching from microplastics into surrounding water caused developmental abnormalities, indicating that microplastics can release harmful compounds that affect marine organisms even without direct ingestion.

2015 Marine Pollution Bulletin 386 citations
Article Tier 2

Commercial product-derived microplastics based on polypropylene and polylactic acid and their harmful effects on the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lmk) embryos: Morphological and gene expression analysis

Researchers examined the toxic effects of polypropylene and polylactic acid microplastics derived from commercial products on embryos of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, assessing morphological changes and gene expression. They found that both polymer types caused developmental harm, with plastic additives and degradation byproducts contributing to the toxic effects observed.

2025 Water Biology and Security
Article Tier 2

Effects of biodegradable-based microplastics in Paracentrotus lividus Lmk embryos: Morphological and gene expression analysis

Researchers tested the effects of biodegradable microplastics (PLA and PBAT) on sea urchin embryo development and found they caused developmental abnormalities and altered gene expression. Even though these plastics are marketed as eco-friendly alternatives, their breakdown particles still harmed marine organisms during sensitive early life stages. This suggests that biodegradable plastics are not necessarily safe for the environment and may still contribute to microplastic toxicity in the food chain.

2023 Environmental Pollution 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular markers of stress in the sea urchin embryo test: Analysing the effect of climate change and pollutant mixtures on Paracentrotus lividus larvae

This study exposed sea urchin larvae to future ocean conditions (warming and acidification) combined with chlorpyrifos-contaminated microplastics and used RNA sequencing to assess responses. Combined stressors caused significant transcriptional shifts in metabolic, cellular, and developmental pathways, with morphological effects including reduced larval size.

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

Plastic leachate-induced toxicity during sea urchin embryonic development: Insights into the molecular pathways affected by PVC

Researchers found that chemical leachates from PVC microplastics disrupted sea urchin embryonic development, revealing molecular pathway alterations in skeletal formation and stress responses that highlight a previously underexplored route of developmental ecotoxicity.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 34 citations
Article Tier 2

PET microplastics toxicity on marine key species is influenced by pH, particle size and food variations

Researchers tested the toxicity of PET microplastics on marine bacteria, algae, and sea urchin larvae under standard and acidified pH conditions. The study found that while bacteria and algae were not sensitive to PET pollution, sea urchin larvae experienced toxic effects that varied with particle size and were influenced by pH and food availability. The results suggest that interactions between microplastics and environmental stressors like ocean acidification need more attention to understand real-world impacts.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 145 citations
Article Tier 2

Developmental toxicity of plastic leachates on the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus

Leachates from new industrial nurdles, beached nurdles, and biobeads caused developmental abnormalities in sea urchin embryos, with chemical analysis identifying a diverse mixture of additives and environmental contaminants in each leachate — providing detailed morphological documentation of plastic leachate developmental toxicity.

2020 Environmental Pollution 82 citations
Article Tier 2

Developmental Toxicity of Microplastic Leachates on Marine Larvae

Chemical leachates from microplastics — the chemicals that wash off plastic surfaces — caused developmental abnormalities in marine sea urchin and bryozoan larvae at environmentally relevant concentrations. The findings suggest that chemical leaching from plastics may be as harmful as the particles themselves for marine organisms in early life stages.

2020 Figshare 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics can aggravate the impact of ocean acidification on the health of mussels: Insights from physiological performance, immunity and byssus properties

Researchers found that the combination of ocean acidification and microplastic exposure weakened mussel immune systems, reduced feeding performance, and degraded the quality of byssus threads used for attachment. The study suggests that co-occurring ocean acidification and microplastic pollution could increase the vulnerability of bivalves to disease and dislodgement, threatening their survival in future marine environments.

2022 Environmental Pollution 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of biodegradable polymers upon grazing activity of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lmk) revealed by morphological, histological and molecular analyses

Researchers tested the effects of five types of biodegradable plastic microparticles on adult sea urchins, examining their reproductive tissues, embryo development, and gene expression. They found that exposure to these supposedly eco-friendly plastics caused developmental malformations in embryos and altered the expression of genes involved in stress response and skeletal development. The study raises concerns that biodegradable plastics may not be as harmless to marine organisms as often assumed.

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

Polymer Chemical Identity as a Key Factor in Microplastic–Insecticide Antagonistic Effects during Embryogenesis of Sea Urchin Arbacia lixula

Researchers found that the chemical identity of microplastic polymers determines their interactive effects with insecticides during sea urchin embryo development, with polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate showing distinctly different antagonistic effects on fertilization and embryogenesis.

2023 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Mild toxicity of polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate microplastics in Paracentrotus lividus early life stages

Sea urchin embryos showed little sensitivity to polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate microplastics, but sperm exposed to these particles showed decreased fertilization success and larvae ingested one polymer type more readily than the other. The findings suggest reproductive effects may occur at the sperm stage before embryo development begins.

2020 Marine Environmental Research 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Synthesized effects of medium-term exposure to seawater acidification and microplastics on the physiology and energy budget of the thick shell mussel Mytilus coruscus

Researchers found that combined exposure to ocean acidification and microplastics significantly reduced the feeding rate, food absorption, and energy budget of the thick shell mussel Mytilus coruscus, with acidification amplifying the negative effects of microplastics.

2022 Environmental Pollution 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic ingestion induces asymmetry and oxidative stress in larvae of the sea urchin Pseudechinus huttoni

Researchers exposed sea urchin (Pseudechinus huttoni) larvae to 1–5 µm microplastic spheres and found increased skeletal asymmetry and elevated reactive oxygen species, indicating that MP ingestion causes developmental disruption and oxidative stress during the sensitive larval stage.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic ingestion and its effects οn sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus: A field study in a coastal East Mediterranean environment

Researchers collected wild sea urchins from three coastal sites in the Ionian Sea with different levels of human activity and examined them for microplastic ingestion and biological stress markers. They found microplastics in sea urchins at all sites, with patterns matching sediment contamination, but most biomarkers showed no significant stress response. The exception was increased detoxification enzyme activity, suggesting the animals may be mounting a subtle biological response to ingested microplastics.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Embryotoxicity of polystyrene microplastics, alone and conjugated with bisphenol A, in the black sea urchin Arbacia lixula: A multi-biomarker approach

Researchers tested the effects of polystyrene microplastics and the chemical bisphenol A, both alone and combined, on sea urchin embryo development. While bisphenol A caused severe skeletal abnormalities and developmental arrest, its toxicity was actually reduced when attached to microplastic surfaces rather than amplified. The study found no synergistic toxic effect between the two pollutants under acute exposure conditions, though both individually disrupted metabolic and oxidative stress pathways.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Ocean acidification enhances microplastic uptake and alters physiological responses in Manila clams

Researchers found that ocean acidification (pH 7.6) impaired particle selection in Manila clams, leading to greater microplastic retention in the digestive tract, while filtration and respiration rates were maintained at higher levels under acidified conditions, suggesting suppressed stress responses and a synergistic interaction between ocean acidification and microplastic pollution.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Developmental toxicity of polystyrene microplastics and bisphenol A in black sea urchin Arbacia lixula by a multi-biomarker approach

Researchers used a multi-biomarker approach to evaluate the developmental toxicity of polystyrene microplastics and bisphenol A, individually and combined, on the black sea urchin Arbacia lixula. The study assessed how these common marine pollutants affect early development in a sensitive marine invertebrate species.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-induced damage in early embryonal development of sea urchin Sphaerechinus granularis

Polystyrene and PMMA microplastics of various sizes were tested on sea urchin embryos from fertilization to the pluteus larval stage, causing dose-dependent developmental defects, cytogenetic abnormalities, and mitotic disruption, with sperm exposure to both plastic types also producing transmissible damage to offspring. The findings reveal significant developmental, genotoxic, and multigenerational hazards from microplastic exposure in marine invertebrates.

2019 Environmental Research 102 citations