Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Multigenerational effects of polyethylene microplastics on freshwater benthic invertebrates, Chironomus tepperi

Researchers exposed the freshwater benthic midge Chironomus tepperi to polyethylene microplastics (8-20 µm) in sediment at four environmentally relevant concentrations over two generations, finding no significant effects on growth but significant decreases in survival and emergence rates at the highest concentration (1,000 MPs/kg) in both generations. Metabolic analyses were conducted to further characterize sublethal mechanisms of MP toxicity in this common stormwater sediment organism.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of the hazard of irregularly-shaped co-polyamide microplastics on the freshwater non-biting midge Chironomus riparius through its life cycle

Laboratory experiments exposed the freshwater midge Chironomus riparius to irregularly shaped co-polyamide microplastics across its full life cycle, finding effects on survival, development, and reproduction at environmentally relevant concentrations. The study highlights that real-world plastic shapes and polymers, not just the smooth spheres commonly used in tests, can harm freshwater invertebrates.

2019 Chemosphere 58 citations
Article Tier 2

Biological responses of Chironomus sancticaroli to exposure to naturally aged PP microplastics under realistic concentrations

This study exposed Chironomus sancticaroli midge larvae to naturally UV-aged polypropylene microplastics at environmentally relevant sediment concentrations and found dose- and time-dependent ingestion, along with biochemical toxicity markers including elevated lipid peroxidation and reduced catalase activity after 144 hours.

2023 Ecotoxicology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Metabolomic responses in freshwater benthic invertebrate, Chironomus tepperi, exposed to polyethylene microplastics: A two-generational investigation

Researchers examined metabolomic changes in the freshwater midge Chironomus tepperi exposed to polyethylene microplastics across two generations, finding that environmentally relevant concentrations altered metabolite profiles and negatively affected survival and emergence.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics induced lipidomic responses in Chironomus tepperi: A two-generational exploration

Scientists studied how polyethylene microplastics affected the fat and energy metabolism of freshwater midges across two generations, finding disrupted lipid profiles at environmentally realistic concentrations. The first generation showed a mixed response where low concentrations stimulated certain fats while high concentrations suppressed them, but offspring that continued to be exposed showed different metabolic changes. The good news is that offspring not exposed to microplastics showed no carry-over effects, suggesting the damage may be reversible.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 10 citations
Article Tier 2

MultigenerationalEffects of Weathered PolyethyleneMicroplastics on Drosophila melanogaster

Researchers tracked multigenerational effects of weathered polyethylene microplastics on Drosophila melanogaster, finding that fitness effects including reduced fecundity and lifespan became more pronounced in later generations even when offspring were not directly exposed.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Oxidative damage and decreased aerobic energy production due to ingestion of polyethylene microplastics by Chironomus riparius (Diptera) larvae

Researchers exposed Chironomus riparius larvae to three size classes of polyethylene microplastics and found that all sizes were ingested, causing oxidative damage and reduced aerobic energy production, with the smallest particles causing the greatest harm.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 102 citations
Article Tier 2

Suborganismal responses of the aquatic midge Chironomus riparius to polyethylene microplastics

Researchers exposed Chironomus riparius larvae to polyethylene microplastics and used transcriptomics and metabolomics to characterize suborganismal responses, finding disruption of oxidative stress pathways, energy metabolism, and cuticle synthesis — effects not captured by standard life-history endpoints alone.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Virgin and UV-weathered polyamide microplastics posed no effect on the survival and reproduction of Daphnia magna

Researchers found that neither virgin nor UV-weathered polyamide microplastics affected the survival or reproduction of Daphnia magna, suggesting this polymer type poses limited acute toxicity to freshwater zooplankton under tested conditions.

2022 PeerJ 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Polyurethane Small-Sized Microplastics in the Chironomid, Chironomus riparius: Responses at Organismal and Sub-Organismal Levels

This study exposed the freshwater chironomid Chironomus riparius to polyurethane microplastics (7-9 micrometers) and found dose-dependent effects on survival, growth, and oxidative stress markers. The results indicate polyurethane microplastics are toxic to this widely used aquatic invertebrate indicator species.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicity of microplastics and natural particles in the freshwater dipteran Chironomus riparius: Same same but different?

Larvae of the freshwater midge Chironomus riparius were chronically exposed to PVC microplastics and natural particles (kaolin, diatomite) alone and combined with the pesticide imidacloprid for 28 days, with effects observed only at high PVC concentrations but with interactions noted between particles and the insecticide. The study suggests that natural particles are not consistently more benign than microplastics at equal concentrations.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 101 citations
Article Tier 2

Biological responses of Chironomus sancticaroli to exposure to naturally aged PP microplastics under realistic concentrations

Researchers studied the toxicity of naturally aged polypropylene microplastics (26 micrometers, UV-aged) to larvae of Chironomus sancticaroli at ecologically realistic concentrations of 13.5, 67.5, and 135 items per gram of dry sediment over 144 hours, assessing fragment ingestion, mortality, and enzymatic biomarker changes. They found that organisms ingested microplastics from the first 48 hours, with internalized quantities increasing with exposure concentration, providing evidence of realistic-concentration biological responses in this freshwater dipteran species.

2022 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Exposure to a microplastic mixture is altering the life traits and is causing deformities in the non-biting midge Chironomus riparius Meigen (1804)

Chironomid midge larvae exposed to a realistic mixture of four microplastic types across water, sediment, and surface compartments showed prolonged development time, reduced emergence, and deformities in wing, mandible, and mentum shape, demonstrating that environmentally relevant microplastic mixtures cause sublethal developmental harm.

2020 Environmental Pollution 75 citations
Article Tier 2

A fit-for-purpose categorization scheme for microplastic morphologies

Researchers studied the long-term effects of polypropylene microplastic exposure on the life history traits of the water flea Daphnia magna across three generations, finding progressively increasing reproductive impairment and reduced survival in successive generations. The multigenerational impacts exceeded those observed in single-generation tests.

2022 Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Use of Midge Chironomus riparius Larvae in Plastic Ecotoxicity Studies and Peculiarities of Their Responses

This study uses midge larvae (Chironomus riparius) — a standard ecotoxicology test organism — to investigate how microplastics affect freshwater sediment-dwelling insects, reviewing both what is known and the peculiarities of chironomid responses compared to other test species. Chironomids are important because they represent benthic organisms that live in direct contact with plastic-contaminated sediments, making them a biologically relevant model for bottom sediment microplastic risk assessment.

2023
Article Tier 2

Polyamide microplastic exposure elicits rapid, strong and genome-wide evolutionary response in the freshwater non-biting midge Chironomus riparius

Researchers discovered that polyamide microplastic exposure triggered rapid and genome-wide evolutionary responses in the midge Chironomus riparius within just seven generations, demonstrating that microplastics can drive significant microevolutionary changes in aquatic organisms.

2022 Chemosphere 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics alter toxicity of the insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis to chironomid larvae in different ways depending on particle size

Researchers tested the combined effects of polyethylene microplastics and the biological insecticide Bti on aquatic midge larvae over 21 days. They found that while microplastics alone did not affect larval survival, they modified the toxicity of Bti in a size-dependent manner, with smaller particles reducing Bti toxicity and larger particles increasing it. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in freshwater ecosystems could alter the effectiveness of biological pest control agents.

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

Microplastics but not natural particles induce multigenerational effects in Daphnia magna

Daphnia magna were exposed to irregular polyethylene microplastics across multiple generations and compared to naturally occurring mineral particles of similar size; microplastics caused multigenerational reductions in reproduction and body size while natural particles did not, demonstrating particle-type-specific chronic effects.

2019 Environmental Pollution 139 citations
Article Tier 2

Ingestion of small-sized and irregularly shaped polyethylene microplastics affect Chironomus riparius life-history traits

Researchers exposed freshwater midge larvae to irregularly shaped polyethylene microplastics of different size classes and found that larvae preferentially ingested the smallest particles (32-63 micrometers) regardless of what sizes were available. Ingestion of these small particles significantly reduced larval growth and delayed adult emergence at relatively low concentrations. The findings suggest that small, irregularly shaped microplastics, which are the most common form in natural sediments, may pose a greater risk to benthic organisms than larger particles.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 171 citations
Article Tier 2

Chironomus riparius molecular response to polystyrene primary microplastics

Researchers examined the molecular response of the aquatic midge larva Chironomus riparius to polystyrene primary microplastics, investigating how these emerging contaminants affect gene expression in this standard toxicology test organism.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparison of reproductive toxicity between pristine and aged polylactic acid microplastics in Caenorhabditis elegans

This study compared the effects of new versus UV-aged biodegradable PLA microplastics on reproductive health using a worm model, finding that aged particles caused significantly more reproductive damage and DNA injury. The results suggest that biodegradable plastics become more toxic as they weather in the environment, which matters because these aged particles are what organisms, including humans, are most likely to encounter.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of polyethylene microplastics and natural stressors on Chironomus riparius life-history traits

Researchers examined combined effects of polyethylene microplastics with temperature, salinity, and food stress on the midge Chironomus riparius, finding that microplastic effects on life-history traits were modulated by these natural stressors in ways not predicted by simple additive models.

2022 Environmental Research 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparing the effects of pristine and UV–VIS aged microplastics: Behavioural response of model terrestrial and freshwater crustaceans

Researchers compared the behavioral effects of pristine versus UV-VIS weathered microplastics on model terrestrial isopods and freshwater amphipods, first characterizing how weathering changed particle surface chemistry. Weathered microplastics produced different behavioral responses than pristine particles in both species, confirming that environmental aging significantly changes the biological hazard profile of plastic particles.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the microplastic pollution impact on Chironomus sancticaroli larvae development and emergence

Researchers studied how PET microplastics affect the development and emergence of Chironomus midge larvae, an important freshwater insect. They found that microplastic exposure altered larval development and reduced successful adult emergence. The study suggests that microplastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems could disrupt the life cycles of aquatic insects, which are vital to food webs and ecosystem health.

2024 Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems 4 citations