Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastics reduce net population growth and fecal pellet sinking rates for the marine copepod, Acartia tonsa

Researchers studied the effects of polystyrene microplastic ingestion on the marine copepod Acartia tonsa across its life stages. They found that microplastic exposure reduced net population growth, impaired fecundity and egg quality, and decreased fecal pellet sinking rates, suggesting that microplastics could disrupt both zooplankton populations and the carbon settling process in marine ecosystems.

2021 Environmental Pollution 57 citations
Article Tier 2

Modeling the Vertical Transport of Copepod Fecal Particles under Nano/Microplastic Exposure

Researchers studied how nano- and microplastics affect the fecal pellets produced by tiny marine copepods, which play a crucial role in transporting carbon from the ocean surface to deeper waters. They found that plastic particles reduced both the size and production rate of fecal pellets, and a fluid dynamics model showed this would slow their sinking speed and reduce vertical carbon transport. The study suggests that widespread microplastic pollution could interfere with the ocean's ability to sequester carbon.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of polystyrene microplastics on feeding, function and fecundity in the marine copepod Calanus helgolandicus.

Marine copepods (Calanus helgolandicus) exposed to 20 µm polystyrene beads at 75 particles/mL ingested 11% fewer algal cells and 40% less carbon biomass, and shifted toward smaller prey. Fecundity was also reduced, suggesting microplastic ingestion could impair energy transfer through this critical trophic link.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Microplastics alter feeding selectivity and faecal density in the copepod Calanus helgolandicus

This study found that microplastic exposure altered the feeding preferences and fecal characteristics of the copepod Calanus helgolandicus, a key marine zooplankton species. Changes in copepod feeding behavior can affect food web dynamics and the efficiency of carbon transport from surface waters to the deep ocean.

2018 Figshare
Article Tier 2

The Impact of Polystyrene Microplastics on Feeding, Function and Fecundity in the Marine Copepod Calanus helgolandicus

Researchers exposed a key marine copepod species to polystyrene microplastics and measured the effects on feeding, egg production, and offspring survival. They found that microplastic ingestion significantly reduced the amount of algae the copepods consumed, lowered their reproductive output, and decreased the hatching success of their eggs. Since copepods are a foundational link in marine food webs, these effects could have cascading consequences for ocean ecosystems.

2015 Environmental Science & Technology 1246 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics alter feeding selectivity and faecal density in the copepod, Calanus helgolandicus

Researchers investigated how microplastic ingestion affects feeding selectivity and fecal pellet density in the copepod Calanus helgolandicus. They found that exposure to microplastics altered the copepod's prey selection depending on particle size and shape, and also reduced the density of their fecal pellets. The study suggests that microplastic pollution could disrupt both the feeding behavior of key zooplankton species and the ocean's biological carbon pump by changing how fecal matter sinks.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 210 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Alter the Properties and Sinking Rates of Zooplankton Faecal Pellets

Researchers found that when zooplankton ingest microplastics, the plastic particles become embedded in their fecal pellets, making those pellets smaller, less dense, and slower to sink. Since these pellets normally help transport carbon from the ocean surface to the deep sea as part of the biological pump, altered sinking rates could disrupt this important carbon cycle process. The study reveals a previously unrecognized way that microplastic pollution could affect ocean chemistry and climate regulation.

2016 Environmental Science & Technology 630 citations
Article Tier 2

Functional study of the ingestion and excretion of microplastics by marine coastal copepods

This study examined how marine coastal copepods ingest and excrete microplastics and assessed their role as vectors for plastic dispersal in the water column. Copepods readily ingested microplastics, retained particles for variable periods depending on size and feeding rate, and excreted aggregated fecal pellets that could redistribute plastics vertically in the ocean.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Residence Time in Marine Copepods: An Experimental Study

Laboratory experiments measured how long microplastics remain in marine copepods after ingestion, finding that residence times vary by particle type and size, with some particles persisting longer than others and informing estimates of microplastic transfer through marine food webs.

2023 Sustainability 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Consumption and Its Effect on Respiration Rate and Motility of Calanus helgolandicus From the Marmara Sea

Researchers found that the copepod Calanus helgolandicus from the Marmara Sea actively consumed polystyrene microplastic beads of 6, 12, and 26 µm, with the strongest preference for 6 µm beads, and that microplastic ingestion increased respiration rate and reduced motility, indicating energetic costs from plastic consumption.

2020 Frontiers in Marine Science 29 citations
Article Tier 2

The Behavior of Planktonic Copepods Minimizes the Entry of Microplastics in Marine Food Webs

Researchers found that planktonic copepods across all major feeding behaviors ingested microplastics at rates up to ten times lower than similar-sized microalgae, suggesting that copepod feeding strategies naturally limit the entry of microplastics into marine food webs.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology 34 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Archives of Microbiology 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Ingestion by Gelatinous Zooplankton May Lower Efficiency of the Biological Pump

Researchers found that microplastic ingestion by salps (Salpa fusiformis) at environmentally realistic concentrations reduced the density and sinking speed of their fecal pellets, suggesting that widespread microplastic contamination could impair the biological pump's ability to sequester carbon in the deep ocean.

2019 Environmental Science & Technology 139 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating Microplastic Ingestion by Zooplankton

This thesis investigated microplastic ingestion by four species of marine zooplankton, finding that the copepod Centropages typicus ingested nylon powder, polyethylene microbeads, and synthetic rope fibers. Exposure to microplastics caused an energy deficit in most species by displacing nutritious food, potentially reducing the energy available for zooplankton growth and reproduction with knock-on effects up the food chain.

2014 Open Research Exeter (University of Exeter) 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Dietary effects of microplastics on the physiological and biochemical profiles of keystone secondary producers Oithona dissimilis (Lindberg,1941)

This study examined how microplastic ingestion affects the physiology and nutrition of a small marine copepod. The copepods showed reduced survival and reproductive output when fed microplastics alongside their natural diet, suggesting that plastic particles displace nutritious food and impair the health of zooplankton that are foundational to ocean food webs.

2023 Research Square (Research Square) 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics exposure on ingestion, fecundity, development, and dimethylsulfide production in Tigriopus japonicus (Harpacticoida, copepod)

Researchers tested how polyethylene and nylon-6 microplastics affect the copepod Tigriopus japonicus, finding that microplastic exposure reduced feeding and reproductive output and suppressed the production of the climate-relevant gas dimethylsulfide during copepod grazing.

2020 Environmental Pollution 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on marine copepods

This review examines how microplastics affect marine copepods, the tiny crustaceans that form a critical link in ocean food chains. Researchers found that copepods readily ingest microplastics, which can block their digestive tracts, reduce feeding, trigger immune responses, deplete energy reserves, and impair reproduction. The effects depend on the size, shape, and chemical properties of the plastic particles, and microplastics can also carry other toxic pollutants that amplify the harm.

2021 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 131 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the menu of Mediterranean zooplankton: Insights from the feeding response of the calanoid copepod Centropages typicus

Researchers investigated how the Mediterranean copepod Centropages typicus responds to microplastics, finding that these zooplankton ingest plastic particles whose size overlaps with their natural nano-microplankton prey, potentially threatening marine food web functioning.

2023 Marine Ecology 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Copepods Boost the Production but Reduce the Carbon Export Efficiency by Diatoms

This study investigated how copepods affect carbon export from surface ocean waters, finding that while they boost phytoplankton productivity, they reduce the efficiency of carbon sinking to deeper waters. The findings have implications for understanding how ocean ecosystems respond to environmental change, including plastic pollution that affects zooplankton feeding.

2018 Frontiers in Marine Science 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics affect moulting and faecal pellet sinking in Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) juveniles

Researchers exposed juvenile Antarctic krill to nanoplastics and found that nanoplastic ingestion interfered with moulting (a key growth process) and reduced the sinking rate of faecal pellets, which could impair the biological carbon pump in Southern Ocean ecosystems.

2020 Environment International 85 citations
Article Tier 2

Feeding of Marine Zooplankton on Microplastic Fibers

Researchers examined the effects of nylon microfibers on feeding rates of calanoid copepods (Eucalanus pileatus) and doliolids (Dolioletta gegenbauri) at near-environmental concentrations alongside diatoms, finding that fiber ingestion occurred and microplastics were incorporated into fecal pellets, potentially affecting zooplankton nutrition and energy transfer in marine food webs.

2022 Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of nanoplastics in the marine organism Tisbe battagliai

This study examined the effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on the marine copepod Tisbe battagliai, assessing impacts on survival and reproduction. Marine copepods are a foundational food web species, and understanding how nanoplastics affect them has implications for ocean ecosystem health.

2019 Duo Research Archive (University of Oslo)
Article Tier 2

The Effects of Microplastics on Dolioletta gegenbauri (Tunicata, Thaliacea)

Polystyrene microplastic beads at low concentrations reduced feeding and swimming activity in doliolids, a type of marine tunicate that plays an important role in ocean carbon cycling. Disruptions to these filter feeders could affect the biological carbon pump that moves carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the deep ocean.

2019 Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic ingestion induces energy loss on the copepod Tigriopus koreanus

This study found that tiny copepods (small marine crustaceans near the base of the food chain) lose significant energy when they ingest microplastics instead of real food. The microplastics provided no nutrition but took energy to process, reducing the animals' ability to grow and reproduce. Since copepods are a critical food source for fish, this energy loss could ripple up the food chain and ultimately affect seafood quality and availability for humans.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 13 citations