Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Impact of polystyrene microplastics on Daphnia magna mortality and reproduction in relation to food availability

Researchers exposed the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna to polystyrene microplastics under varying food availability conditions and found that microplastic impacts on mortality and reproduction were most severe when food was limited. The study suggests that the ecological effects of microplastics on zooplankton are strongly influenced by nutritional status, with food-stressed organisms being more vulnerable to particle ingestion.

2018 PeerJ 160 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics mixed with natural particles on Daphnia magna populations

Researchers exposed populations of the freshwater organism Daphnia magna to polystyrene microplastics mixed with natural particles over 50 days and found significant population-level declines. Population sizes dropped by 28 to 42 percent compared to controls, with changes in population structure and stress-induced resting egg production. The study demonstrates that microplastics cause harmful effects at the population level, not just in individual organisms.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics and natural particles on the aquatic invertebrate Daphnia magna under different dietary quality scenarios

Researchers exposed Daphnia magna to both natural particles—including sediment, algae, and biofilm—and polystyrene microplastics to compare their effects, finding that natural particles caused similar or greater harm than microplastics at equivalent concentrations, highlighting the need for environmental context in MP toxicity studies.

2025 Oecologia
Review Tier 2

Ecotoxicology of microplastics in Daphnia: A review focusing on microplastic properties and multiscale attributes of Daphnia

This review synthesizes research on how microplastics affect Daphnia, a key organism in aquatic food webs, across individual, population, and community levels. Researchers found that the toxicity of microplastics to Daphnia depends heavily on the physical and chemical properties of the particles, and that combined exposure with other pollutants can produce more severe effects. The study highlights Daphnia as an important indicator species for understanding how microplastic pollution cascades through aquatic ecosystems.

2022 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 71 citations
Article Tier 2

Accumulation, depuration, and potential effects of environmentally representative microplastics towards Daphnia magna

Researchers created environmentally realistic microplastics by grinding common consumer products and tested their effects on Daphnia magna, a small freshwater organism widely used in toxicity studies. The organisms accumulated the microplastics and showed some ability to clear them over time, but the realistic microplastics caused different effects than the pristine laboratory plastics typically used in research. This suggests that many existing studies may underestimate the true environmental risk of microplastics.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics mixed with natural particles on Daphnia magna populations

Researchers exposed Daphnia magna populations to irregular polystyrene microplastics mixed with diatomite as a natural particle at fixed concentrations over 50 days, measuring effects on population size, structure, and individual-level endpoints. The study validated population-level predictions from short-term individual exposures and assessed how natural particles modulate microplastic toxicity in freshwater zooplankton.

2022 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Acute and chronic effects of polystyrene microplastics on juvenile and adult Daphnia magna

Researchers investigated the short- and long-term effects of polystyrene microplastics on juvenile and adult water fleas (Daphnia magna). While the particles were not acutely toxic within 48 hours, chronic exposure reduced growth, fecundity, and offspring body size. The study indicates that even at sublethal concentrations, microplastics can impair reproduction and development in this ecologically important freshwater organism.

2019 Environmental Pollution 183 citations
Article Tier 2

Shape, size, and polymer dependent effects of microplastics on Daphnia magna

Researchers conducted chronic exposure experiments on Daphnia magna using polystyrene beads (6 and 20 µm), polystyrene fibers, polystyrene fragments, and non-plastic control particles of similar sizes and shapes to systematically disentangle whether observed toxic effects are driven by polymer type, particle shape, or particle size.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic burden in Daphnia is aggravated by elevated temperatures

Daphnia magna and Daphnia pulex were exposed to 1-micrometer polystyrene spheres at 200 ng per liter under varying food supply and temperature conditions to assess how environmental factors modify microplastic ingestion and harm. Elevated temperature aggravated the burden of microplastic accumulation, suggesting that climate warming may increase microplastic risks to freshwater zooplankton.

2020 Zoology 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Significant decline of Daphnia magna population biomass due to microplastic exposure

Stable Daphnia magna populations were exposed to primary microplastics (1–5 μm) at concentrations ranging from 10⁴ to 10⁷ particles/mL for three weeks, resulting in a significant decline in population biomass at higher concentrations. The study demonstrates that population-level endpoints reveal microplastic effects that are missed by single-organism toxicity tests, highlighting the need for realistic long-term exposure experiments.

2019 Environmental Pollution 107 citations
Review Tier 2

Review on the ecotoxicological impacts of plastic pollution on the freshwater invertebrate Daphnia

This review examines the ecotoxicological impacts of plastic pollution on the freshwater invertebrate Daphnia, a widely used model organism. Researchers highlight that microplastics affect Daphnia reproduction, growth, and survival, and that chemicals leaching from plastics may contribute additional toxic effects that transfer through food webs.

2022 Environmental Toxicology 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Studies of the effects of microplastics on aquatic organisms: What do we know and where should we focus our efforts in the future?

This review critically evaluates published research on microplastic effects on aquatic organisms and identifies significant gaps between laboratory experiments and real-world conditions. Researchers found that most studies use polystyrene spheres at concentrations far higher than those found in the environment, while the most common microplastics in nature are fragments and fibers of other polymer types. The study calls for more environmentally realistic experimental designs to better understand the actual ecological risks of microplastic pollution.

2018 The Science of The Total Environment 1264 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Polystyrene Microplastics in Different Diet Combinations on Survival, Growth and Reproduction Rates of the Water Flea (Daphnia magna)

Researchers exposed Daphnia magna water fleas to 6-micrometer fluorescent polystyrene microplastics across different diet combinations over 21 days, finding that animals fed only microplastics showed survival declines similar to starved controls and the least growth, while algae co-feeding partially mitigated but did not eliminate reproductive impacts.

2022 Microplastics 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics on Reproduction and Growth of Freshwater Live Feeds Daphnia magna

Researchers found that microplastic exposure negatively affected reproduction and juvenile growth in Daphnia magna, a key freshwater zooplankton species, with effects worsening at higher concentrations and posing risks for aquatic food chains.

2022 Fishes 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxic Effects of Ester Based Polymers on Daphnia Magna: a Laboratory Microcosm Study

Researchers assessed the acute and chronic toxicity of polycarbonate, PET, and polybutylene terephthalate microplastics on Daphnia magna, finding EC50 values of 2.6, 4.7, and greater than 100 mg/L respectively at 72 hours, with physiological effects observed even at low immobilization rates. The study demonstrates that ester-based polymer microplastics differ substantially in their toxicity to freshwater zooplankton.

2022 Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Is the development of Daphnia magna neonates affected by short-term exposure to polyethylene microplastics?

Daphnia magna neonates ingested polyethylene microplastics within the first 24 hours of exposure but showed no significant effects on mobility or molting, though food availability was a more powerful driver of development than microplastic concentration. The study highlights the importance of accounting for feeding regime when interpreting microplastic toxicity tests.

2020 Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological Effects of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Microplastics on the Growth, Reproduction and Survival of Daphnia magna

Researchers exposed Daphnia magna to polyvinyl chloride microplastics at different concentrations, alone and combined with two algal food sources, and measured growth, reproduction, and survival. PVC microplastics reduced fecundity and survival in a dose-dependent manner, with food source type modulating the severity of toxicity effects.

2025 International Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences
Article Tier 2

Shape, size, and polymer dependent effects of microplastics on Daphnia magna

Researchers systematically tested how the shape, size, and material of microplastic particles affect the water flea Daphnia magna by comparing polystyrene particles to non-plastic control particles with similar properties. They found that small polystyrene beads and fragments caused harmful effects on reproduction and body shape, while none of the non-plastic control particles caused any damage. The study suggests that the toxic effects are specific to the plastic polymer itself, not simply a result of ingesting small particles.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 166 citations
Article Tier 2

Negative food dilution and positive biofilm carrier effects of microplastic ingestion by D. magna cause tipping points at the population level

Experiments with Daphnia magna showed that clean microplastics reduced survival and reproduction through food dilution at high concentrations, while biofouled microplastics had a slight positive biofilm carrier effect, with the net outcome depending on the balance between these competing mechanisms.

2021 Environmental Pollution 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Acute toxicity of organic pesticides to Daphnia magna is unchanged by co-exposure to polystyrene microplastics

Daphnia magna were exposed to dimethoate (low log Kow) and deltamethrin (high log Kow) pesticides in the presence or absence of 1 μm polystyrene microplastics, and microplastics were found to have no effect on the acute toxicity of either pesticide. The study challenges the assumption that polystyrene MPs function as significant vectors altering pesticide bioavailability and toxicity to freshwater zooplankton.

2018 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 113 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of nano/microplastics on the growth and reproduction of the microalgae, bacteria, fungi, and Daphnia magna in the microcosms

Researchers tested the effects of 14 types of plastic particles and 6 fiber materials on microorganisms and water fleas in both single-species and microcosm experiments. They found that higher concentrations and smaller particle sizes of microplastics led to reduced growth rates in algae and other microorganisms. The study highlights the importance of testing realistic mixtures of plastic types rather than single materials when assessing the ecological risks of microplastic pollution.

2023 Environmental Technology & Innovation 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential for high toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics to the European Daphnia longispina

Researchers exposed water fleas (Daphnia) to polystyrene nanoplastics and found that 50 nm particles were thousands of times more toxic per unit mass than 100 nm particles, with effects comparable to highly regulated toxic chemicals. The results highlight how particle size dramatically changes nanoplastic hazard and challenge the assumption that microplastics pose low ecological risk.

2023 Environmental Sciences Europe 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Changes of the acute and chronic toxicity of three antimicrobial agents to Daphnia magna in the presence/absence of micro-polystyrene

Polystyrene microplastics alone caused chronic reproductive toxicity to Daphnia magna at low milligram-per-liter concentrations and worsened the reproductive harm caused by three antimicrobial compounds (triclosan, triclocarban, and methyl-triclosan) in a concentration-dependent manner. The findings suggest microplastics can amplify the chronic toxicity of co-occurring pollutants to aquatic invertebrates.

2020 Environmental Pollution 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Size-dependent impacts from polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics on freshwater invertebrates: A mesocosm study combining environmental DNA metabarcoding and morphological identification

A 14-week outdoor mesocosm experiment exposed natural freshwater invertebrate communities to 15 µm and 150 nm polystyrene particles, finding size-dependent effects on community composition with nanoplastics causing greater disruption than microplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials