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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to The Ecotoxicological Effects of Microplastics on Primary Producers in the Marine Environment
ClearDo microplastics affect marine ecosystem productivity?
This study estimated the potential impact of microplastics on marine ecosystem productivity (algae and zooplankton growth) by synthesizing lab toxicity data. The analysis suggested that current environmental microplastic concentrations may reduce primary productivity in some ocean regions, with knock-on effects up the food chain.
The microplastic menace: a critical review of its impact on marine photoautotrophs and their environment
This review examines how microplastics interact with marine macro- and microalgae, covering environmental prevalence, genetic responses to MP exposure, and mitigation strategies. It finds that annual introduction of 28.5 million tons of plastic into oceans threatens marine primary producers and indirectly affects marine food webs and human health through the consumption of contaminated seafood.
Effects of microplastics on microalgae populations: A critical review
This critical review examines how microplastics affect microalgae populations, which are essential primary producers at the base of aquatic food webs. Researchers found that microplastics can reduce algal growth, impair photosynthesis, and cause oxidative stress, with effects varying by plastic type, size, and concentration. The study highlights that harm to microalgae from plastic pollution could have cascading effects throughout entire aquatic ecosystems.
Micro Plastics in The Marine Environment: A Review of Their Effects on Marine Organisms and Ecosystems
This review examines the effects of microplastics on marine organisms and ecosystems, summarizing evidence for MP ingestion across trophic levels, physical and chemical harm to marine life, and the pathways through which marine MP pollution threatens biodiversity and fisheries.
Concentration dependent toxicity of microplastics to marine microalgae
A dose-response study of microplastic effects on marine microalgae found concentration-dependent toxicity across multiple species, with higher MP concentrations reducing growth rates, photosynthesis efficiency, and chlorophyll content, confirming that microplastics pose risks to the base of marine food webs.
Impacts of marine debris on coral reef ecosystem: A review for conservation and ecological monitoring of the coral reef ecosystem
This review examines how marine debris, especially microplastics, threatens coral reef ecosystems by causing physical damage, spreading disease, and disrupting coral biology. Microplastics can stick to coral polyps and block their feeding, while also carrying harmful bacteria that cause coral diseases. Healthy coral reefs are vital for fisheries and coastal protection, so their decline from plastic pollution indirectly affects the millions of people who depend on reef ecosystems for food and livelihoods.
Implication of microplastic toxicity on functioning of microalgae in aquatic system
This review examined how microplastics interact with and affect microalgae, which serve as primary producers in aquatic ecosystems. Researchers analyzed the toxic effects of both single and mixed plastic particles on microalgae cells, including impacts on photosynthesis, growth, and cellular function. The study highlights that microplastic toxicity to microalgae could have cascading effects throughout aquatic food webs.
Microplastics – A major contaminant in marine macro algal population: Review
This review identified the occurrence and characteristics of microplastics in marine macroalgae, highlighting macroalgae as both indicators of MP pollution and potential entry points for microplastics into marine food webs.
Impact of polystyrene microplastics on major marine primary (phytoplankton) and secondary producers (copepod)
Researchers found that polystyrene microplastics reduced the growth of marine microalgae and negatively impacted copepod survival, demonstrating harmful effects on both primary and secondary producers at the base of the marine food web.
A systematic review of microplastics in coral reef ecosystems: Abundance, distribution, toxicity, and future research directions
This systematic review examined 125 studies on microplastic pollution in coral reef ecosystems. Corals are ingesting microplastics, which can cause tissue damage, stress responses, and impaired growth. Since coral reefs support roughly 25% of all marine species and many fisheries that feed coastal communities, their contamination with microplastics has far-reaching consequences for ocean health and food security.
Early evidence of microplastics on seagrass and macroalgae
Researchers quantified microplastic densities on the surfaces of three marine macrophyte species (two macroalgae and one seagrass) collected in situ, finding measurable contamination on all species. The results suggest that macrophytes may serve as an important but underappreciated pathway for microplastics to enter marine food webs.
Ecotoxicity of micro- and nanoplastics on aquatic algae: Facts, challenges, and future opportunities
This review provides a comprehensive assessment of how micro- and nanoplastics harm aquatic algae, which form the base of ocean and freshwater food chains. The toxic effects include reduced growth, oxidative stress, and disrupted photosynthesis, with nanoplastics generally causing more damage than larger particles. Since algae support the entire aquatic food web, their decline from plastic pollution could reduce the quality and safety of fish and shellfish consumed by people.
Ecological Impacts of Microplastics in Coastal Environment
This review summarizes the ecological impacts of microplastics in coastal marine environments, covering ingestion and accumulation in marine birds, mammals, turtles, fish, and mollusks, and the broader consequences for sensitive ecosystems including coral reefs and mangroves.
Research progress on the effects of microplastics on coral reef ecosystems
This review synthesized current knowledge on microplastic pollution in coral reef ecosystems, covering global distribution of reef-associated microplastics, ingestion by reef organisms, and impacts on coral health. Microplastics were found to impair coral feeding, disrupt zooxanthellae, transfer toxins to reef organisms, and potentially contribute to coral reef degradation.
Microplastic pollution in the marine environment: Sources, impacts, and degradation.
This review summarizes existing research on microplastic pollution in the ocean, covering sources, effects on marine life, and degradation. Microplastics harm marine organisms across the food chain, from plankton to fish, affecting their growth, reproduction, immune systems, and behavior. Since humans consume many of these marine species, the widespread contamination raises concerns about microplastic exposure through seafood.
Microplastics – An emerging contaminants for algae. Critical review and perspectives
This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics affect algae, which are the foundation of aquatic food chains. Microplastics can reduce algae growth, disrupt photosynthesis, and cause oxidative stress, with smaller nanoplastics being more harmful. Since algae are at the base of the food web, damage to them can ripple through ecosystems and ultimately affect the seafood that humans consume.
Effects of microplastics on freshwater and marine microalgae
This book chapter reviews the effects of microplastics on freshwater and marine microalgae, covering how different plastic types and sizes affect algal growth, photosynthesis, and reproduction. Microalgae form the base of aquatic food webs, so plastic-induced disruption to algal communities could have cascading effects throughout ecosystems.
The ecotoxicological effects of microplastics on aquatic food web, from primary producer to human: A review
This review traces the ecotoxicological effects of microplastics through the aquatic food web, from algae and zooplankton up through fish and ultimately to human consumers. Researchers found evidence that microplastics cause harm at every trophic level, including reduced growth, reproductive impairment, and inflammatory responses. The study highlights that microplastics can transfer up the food chain, raising concerns about cumulative exposure in seafood-consuming populations.
Research advances on impacts micro/nanoplastics and their carried pollutants on algae in aquatic ecosystems: A review
This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics harm algae, which are the foundation of aquatic food chains, by slowing growth, reducing photosynthesis, and damaging cells. The effects are worse when microplastics carry other pollutants on their surfaces, creating a combined toxic effect. Since algae support the entire aquatic food web, damage to these organisms can ripple upward through fish and shellfish to affect the safety of seafood consumed by humans.
Ecological impact of microplastic pollution on marine food webs
This review examines how microplastic pollution disrupts marine food webs, tracing the transfer of plastic particles and associated chemicals from plankton through fish to top predators and analyzing the ecological consequences for marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
Microplastic as an invisible threat to the coral reefs: Sources, toxicity mechanisms, policy intervention, and the way forward
This review examines how microplastics threaten coral reefs by causing physical damage, chemical toxicity, and disruption to coral biology. Microplastics can block coral feeding, carry harmful chemicals, and promote disease-causing bacteria on coral surfaces. While focused on coral ecosystems, the findings matter for human health because healthy reefs support fisheries and coastal communities that millions of people depend on.
Accumulation and re-distribution of microplastics via aquatic plants and macroalgae - A review of field studies
This review summarizes field studies on microplastic accumulation in aquatic plants and macroalgae, finding that these primary producers can intercept and redistribute microplastics in aquatic ecosystems but have received far less research attention than animals.
Toxicity of microplastics and nano-plastics to coral-symbiotic alga (Dinophyceae Symbiodinium): Evidence from alga physiology, ultrastructure, OJIP kinetics and multi-omics
Researchers studied how microplastics and nanoplastics damage Symbiodinium, the algae that live inside coral and keep reefs alive. Even at concentrations found in the real environment, the plastic particles disrupted photosynthesis, caused oxidative stress, and triggered metabolic problems in the algae. Since the breakdown of this coral-algae partnership leads to coral bleaching, microplastic pollution could threaten the reef ecosystems that support fisheries and coastal communities worldwide.
Macro- and microplastics as complex threats to coral reef ecosystems
This review summarizes the growing threat that plastic pollution, from large debris down to nanoplastics, poses to coral reef ecosystems worldwide. Researchers found that microplastics can impair coral feeding, skeletal formation, and nutrition, weakening reef health. The study calls for including plastic monitoring in reef conservation programs and promoting a circular economy to reduce plastic waste entering oceans.