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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Important ecological processes are affected by the accumulation and trophic transfer of nanoplastics in a freshwater periphyton-grazer food chain
ClearTrophic transfer and individual impact of nano-sized polystyrene in a four-species freshwater food chain
Researchers traced nano-sized polystyrene plastics through a four-species freshwater food chain — from algae to water fleas to two fish species — finding that nanoplastics transferred at each level and caused reduced activity, liver damage in fish, and penetration into fish embryos. The results highlight the broad ecological and health risks of nanoplastics moving up through aquatic food webs.
Distribution, bioaccumulation, and trophic transfer of palladium-doped nanoplastics in a constructed freshwater ecosystem
Researchers used palladium-doped nanoplastics as tracers in a constructed freshwater ecosystem to quantitatively track distribution, bioaccumulation, and trophic transfer, finding that nanoplastics move through multiple trophic levels and accumulate in organisms.
Infiltration of freshwater food chain by nanoplastics: An examination of trophic transfer and biological impact
Researchers used fluorescent nanoplastics to track how these particles move through a freshwater food chain from algae to water fleas. They found that nanoplastics accumulated more in water fleas through the food chain than through direct water exposure, with positively charged particles infiltrating more readily. The study suggests that foodborne nanoplastic exposure may be a more significant pathway for contamination in aquatic ecosystems than waterborne exposure alone.
Microplastic in freshwater ecosystem: bioaccumulation, trophic transfer, and biomagnification
This review synthesizes evidence on microplastic bioaccumulation and trophic transfer in freshwater ecosystems, finding that while ingestion by freshwater organisms is well-documented, biomagnification through food chains remains poorly understood and requires further investigation.
Micro-Nano Plastics in Aquatic Environments: Associated Health Impacts and Mitigation Strategies
This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic environments are biologically transferred up the food chain, covering the factors that influence particle bioavailability, accumulation in organisms, and trophic transfer — with implications for both aquatic ecosystem health and human dietary exposure.
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.
Microplastic exposure across trophic levels: effects on the host–microbiota of freshwater organisms
Researchers examined how microplastic exposure across trophic levels affects the gut microbiota of freshwater organisms, finding that microplastics alter microbial community composition and that effects can transfer through food web interactions.
Microplastic pollution: exploring trophic transfer pathways and ecological impacts
Researchers reviewed how microplastics — tiny plastic fragments under 5 mm — move through food chains across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, turning up in everything from table salt and drinking water to fish and earthworms. The review highlights how microplastics disrupt nutrient cycling and accumulate across trophic levels, calling for stronger management strategies to curb this global pollutant.
Predator traits influence uptake and trophic transfer of nanoplastics in aquatic systems–a mechanistic study
Researchers investigated how predator feeding behaviors — such as filter feeding versus active hunting — influence how much nanoplastics (plastic particles smaller than 1 micrometer) are taken up and passed up the food chain in aquatic ecosystems. Understanding these pathways matters because nanoplastics consumed by small aquatic animals can accumulate in larger predators, including fish eaten by humans.
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.
Trophic transfer of nanoplastics through a microalgae–crustacean–small yellow croaker food chain: Inhibition of digestive enzyme activity in fish
Researchers tracked how nanoplastics move through a marine food chain from microalgae to crustaceans to fish, demonstrating that plastic particles transfer upward through feeding relationships. The nanoplastics accumulated at each level and ultimately inhibited digestive enzyme activity in the fish. The study suggests that nanoplastics could eventually reach humans through seafood consumption via this same trophic transfer process.
Nanoplastics modulate the outcome of a zooplankton–microparasite interaction
Researchers found that nanoplastics can alter the outcome of zooplankton-microparasite interactions, demonstrating that plastic pollution at the nanoscale may disrupt host-parasite dynamics in freshwater ecosystems with cascading ecological effects.
Nanoplastics rewire freshwater food webs
Researchers used replicated experimental wetlands to study how nanoplastics affect freshwater food webs. They identified a tipping point at which nanoplastic concentrations became harmful to Daphnia, a key planktonic grazer, and also strongly affected diatom populations. The study suggests that nanoplastic pollution can fundamentally rewire aquatic food web dynamics, with cascading effects through multiple trophic levels.
Trophic transfer of nanomaterials and their effects on high-trophic-level predators
Researchers reviewed 15 years of research on how nanomaterials — including metal-based particles, carbon materials, and nanoplastics — transfer through aquatic and terrestrial food chains, finding that particle-specific transfer factors better capture their movement and that trophic transfer causes measurable toxicity at molecular, physiological, and population levels in predators.
Toxicological review of micro- and nano-plastics in aquatic environments: Risks to ecosystems, food web dynamics and human health.
This review synthesized evidence on the toxicological effects of micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic ecosystems, covering risks to individual organisms, disruptions to food web dynamics, and pathways through which plastic exposure poses risks to human health via seafood consumption.
Fish microplastic ingestion may induce tipping points of aquatic ecosystems
Researchers used a three-species trophic chain model to investigate how microplastic ingestion by planktivorous fish could produce cascading effects throughout aquatic ecosystems. The study suggests that gradually increasing microplastic concentrations may induce ecological tipping points, where sublethal effects on fish at intermediate trophic levels ripple up and down the food chain to affect both predators and prey populations.
Progress in the Research on Bioavailability of Nanoplastics to Freshwater Plankton
A review of recent research finds that nanoplastics can be taken up by freshwater phytoplankton and zooplankton, transferred up the food web, and cause toxic effects — but significant gaps remain in understanding how much actually enters organisms in real-world settings. Because plankton underpin aquatic food webs and nutrient cycling, nanoplastic contamination at this foundational level could have cascading consequences for freshwater ecosystem health.
Uptake and Transfer of Polyamide Microplastics in a Freshwater Mesocosm Study
A freshwater mesocosm study tracked the trophic and ontogenetic transfer of polyamide microplastics through an aquatic food web under near-natural conditions, confirming that particles were transferred between prey and predators at multiple levels. The results demonstrate that microplastic transfer through food webs occurs in realistic community settings, not just isolated laboratory tests.
Trophic transfer of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems: Identifying critical research needs
This review analyzed the available literature on trophic transfer of microplastics in aquatic food webs, identifying key factors — particle size, shape, density, and organism feeding behavior — that determine whether microplastics pass through organisms or accumulate. The authors conclude that biomagnification of microplastics remains poorly understood and requires targeted research.
Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems: Implications for Ecosystem Services and the Sustainability of Fisheries
Researchers synthesized evidence on microplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems through an ecosystem-services framework, linking organism-level biological responses and trophic transfer dynamics to consequences for provisioning, regulating, and supporting services, and identifying key gaps needed to quantify impacts on fishery productivity and recruitment stability.
How Do Microplastics Distribute Through Freshwater Ecosystems? Which Biota, Feeding Groups, and Trophic Levels Are Most at Risk?
This review examines how microplastics distribute through freshwater ecosystems — across water columns, sediments, biota, and trophic levels — identifying filter feeders, detritivores, and higher trophic level organisms as particularly vulnerable to microplastic accumulation.
Trophic Transfer of Differentially Hydrophobic Nanoplastics along Marine Food Chains and Related Toxicity
Researchers studied how surface hydrophobicity affects the movement of nanoplastics through a marine food chain from algae to mysids to fish. They found that more hydrophobic nanoplastics accumulated at significantly higher levels in organisms at each stage of the food chain, suggesting that surface properties play an important role in determining how nanoplastics bioaccumulate in marine ecosystems.
Ingestion and transfer of microplastics in the planktonic food web
Researchers demonstrated that microplastics are ingested and transferred through a planktonic food web, with particles passing from primary producers to zooplankton grazers and on to predatory plankton, establishing trophic transfer as a real pathway for microplastic movement through marine food chains.
Trophic transfer of nanoplastics reduces larval survival of marine fish more than waterborne exposure
This study compared direct waterborne exposure versus trophic transfer of micro- and nanoplastics on marine fish larvae, finding that trophic transfer caused significantly higher larval mortality. The results suggest that dietary uptake through the food web is a more dangerous exposure route than direct water contact for early-stage fish.