Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Effects of Exposure to Cadmium, Microplastics, and Their Mixture on Survival, Growth, Feeding, and Life History of Daphnia magna

Researchers examined how polyethylene microplastics altered cadmium toxicity to Daphnia magna, finding that microplastic co-exposure modified cadmium bioavailability and affected survival, growth, feeding rates, and reproductive outcomes in this ecologically important species.

2023 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 9 citations
Article Tier 2

The effect of microplastics and co-occurring toxicants on survival and life-history traits of the cladoceran Moina macrocopa

Researchers tested the effects of four types of microplastics on the freshwater cladoceran Moina macrocopa, both alone and in combination with copper, insecticides, and diesel fuel. The study found that only polystyrene-based microplastics induced direct toxicity, while other polymer types modulated the toxicity of co-occurring chemical contaminants in varying ways.

2025 Limnology and Freshwater Biology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Adverse Effects of Co-Exposure to Cd and Microplastic in Tigriopus japonicus

Researchers exposed the marine copepod Tigriopus japonicus to combined cadmium and polystyrene microplastic exposure using a full concentration-response design. Co-exposure increased toxicity compared to either contaminant alone, with effects on survival, reproduction, and development, indicating synergistic or additive interactions between cadmium and microplastics.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Additive effects of microplastics on accumulation and toxicity of cadmium in male zebrafish

Researchers exposed adult zebrafish to polyethylene microplastics and cadmium, both individually and in combination, for 21 days. They found that microplastics and cadmium together produced additive toxic effects, increasing cadmium accumulation in fish tissues, altering behavior, and causing more severe organ damage. The study suggests that microplastics in contaminated waterways may worsen the harmful effects of heavy metals on aquatic life.

2023 Chemosphere 25 citations
Article Tier 2

The interaction effects of biodegradable microplastics and Cd on Folsomia candida soil collembolan

Researchers investigated the combined effects of biodegradable PLA microplastics and cadmium on the soil organism Folsomia candida, finding that microplastics altered cadmium bioavailability and their interaction produced distinct toxicological effects.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of Microplastics, Cadmium, and Their Mixtures on Biochemical Biomarkers in the Freshwater Bivalve Corbicula fluminea (Bivalvia, Corbiculidea)

This study evaluated the combined impacts of microplastics and cadmium on biochemical biomarkers in a freshwater organism, finding that co-exposure caused greater oxidative stress and cellular damage than either contaminant alone. Microplastics appear to enhance cadmium bioavailability and toxicity.

2024 Diversity 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined toxic effects of cadmium and environmental microplastics in Aphanius fasciatus (Pisces, Cyprinodontidae)

Researchers found that combined exposure to cadmium and microplastics in killifish caused oxidative stress and spinal deformities, though the two pollutants did not show clear synergistic interaction, likely because microplastics reduced cadmium bioavailability.

2023 Marine Environmental Research 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological effects of microplastics and cadmium on the earthworm Eisenia foetida

Researchers studied the effects of microplastics alone and combined with the heavy metal cadmium on earthworms over 42 days. They found that both exposures reduced growth and increased mortality, with the combined treatment causing the most damage through increased oxidative stress. The study also revealed that microplastics can increase cadmium accumulation in earthworms by up to 161%, suggesting microplastics may worsen heavy metal contamination in soil ecosystems.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 330 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological effects of microplastics and adsorbed contaminants on aquatic organisms

This review summarizes ecotoxicological studies on microplastics and their adsorbed contaminants in microalgae, crustaceans, mollusks, and fish. Across all tested organisms, microplastics caused growth inhibition, reduced reproduction, and physiological stress — particularly when carrying additional chemical contaminants.

2019 Manglar 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Single and Combined Effects of Microplastics and Cadmium on the Cadmium Accumulation and Biochemical and Immunity of Channa argus

Researchers investigated the single and combined effects of microplastics and cadmium on juvenile snakehead fish, finding that co-exposure caused greater tissue damage, oxidative stress, and immune disruption than either pollutant alone.

2021 Biological Trace Element Research 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) Secondary Microplastics on the Demography of Moina macrocopa (Cladocera)

Researchers exposed freshwater zooplankton (Moina macrocopa) to artificially fragmented ABS plastic microplastics mixed with algae food and measured survival, fecundity, and feeding across life stages. Microplastic exposure caused dose-dependent reductions in key demographic parameters, demonstrating that ABS fragments are toxic to this genus used as a standard ecotoxicological test organism.

2025 Preprints.org
Article Tier 2

Microplastics have additive effects on cadmium accumulation and toxicity in Rice flower carp (Procypris merus)

When a Chinese freshwater fish species was exposed to both microplastics and cadmium together, the microplastics increased cadmium buildup in the liver and gills and worsened tissue damage compared to either pollutant alone. The combined exposure caused greater oxidative stress and disrupted immune and metabolic pathways. This is important because microplastics and heavy metals often coexist in polluted waterways, and their combined effect on fish could affect the safety of freshwater fish that people eat.

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

The interaction effects of degradable microplastics and Cd to Folsomia candida soil collembolan

Researchers found that the combined exposure of degradable microplastics and cadmium to soil collembolans (Folsomia candida) produced interaction effects on soil organisms, demonstrating that co-occurring microplastics and heavy metals in real field soils can pose compounded risks to soil ecosystem health.

2022 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

The combined effects of microplastics and the heavy metal cadmium on the marine periphytic ciliate Euplotes vannus

Researchers studied the combined toxic effects of polystyrene microplastics and the heavy metal cadmium on the marine ciliate Euplotes vannus. The study found that microplastics and cadmium together produced joint toxic effects on these single-celled organisms, which play important roles in marine food webs. Evidence indicates that microplastics may increase the bioavailability of heavy metals to marine microorganisms at the base of the food chain.

2022 Environmental Pollution 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Single and combined effects of microplastics and cadmium on juvenile grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus)

Researchers found that combined exposure to polystyrene microplastics and cadmium in juvenile grass carp caused greater physiological stress than either pollutant alone, with microplastics enhancing cadmium accumulation and intensifying oxidative stress and immune responses.

2022 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluating additive versus interactive effects of copper and cadmium on Daphnia pulex life history

This study assessed how two common heavy metals — copper and cadmium — combine to affect the water flea Daphnia pulex under different food conditions and across multiple genotypes. Understanding metal mixture toxicity is relevant to assessing microplastic risk because plastics often carry multiple metals adsorbed from seawater.

2019 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined toxicity of microplastics and cadmium on the zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio)

Researchers exposed zebrafish embryos to polystyrene microplastics combined with cadmium to assess their combined toxic effects on aquatic organisms. The study found that co-exposure produced greater negative impacts on survival and heart rate than either pollutant alone, with toxicity increasing in a concentration-dependent manner.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 160 citations
Article Tier 2

Single and combined effects of microplastics and cadmium on the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

Researchers examined the individual and combined toxic effects of cadmium and microplastics on sea cucumbers. The study found that cadmium was the primary driver of negative effects including reduced growth, digestive enzyme suppression, and disruption of gut microbiota, but the presence of microplastics increased cadmium's toxicity when both pollutants were present at high concentrations.

2023 Marine Environmental Research 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological effects of microplastics and heavy metals on the Daphnia magna

Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastics of two sizes adsorb heavy metals and how their combined presence affects the water flea Daphnia magna. They found that smaller microplastics had higher adsorption capacity for metals, and the combined toxicity shifted from antagonistic to additive effects as microplastic concentrations increased. The study reveals that smaller microplastics pose a greater toxicological risk when combined with heavy metals in aquatic environments.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 184 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics aggravate the joint toxicity to earthworm Eisenia fetida with cadmium by altering its availability

Researchers exposed earthworms to polyethylene microplastics combined with cadmium and found that co-exposure caused significantly worse effects than either pollutant alone, including increased avoidance behavior, weight loss, and DNA damage. The microplastics increased the bioavailability of cadmium in soil by up to 1.43-fold and boosted cadmium accumulation in earthworm tissue by up to 2.65-fold. The study demonstrates that microplastics can worsen heavy metal toxicity to soil organisms by making the metals more accessible for uptake.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 166 citations