Papers

61,005 results
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Clinical Trial Tier 1

The Effect of Polystyrene (Ps) Microplastic Exposure with Different Doses on the Growth and Survival of Rotifera (Brachionus sp.)

This study tested how polystyrene microplastics at different doses affect the growth and survival of tiny aquatic organisms called rotifers. The results showed harmful effects at higher doses, demonstrating that microplastics can disrupt organisms at the base of the food chain, which can have ripple effects up to the seafood humans eat.

2025 Asian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Research
Article Tier 2

The Effects of Polyethylene and Polypropylene Microplastics on Daphnia dentifera

Researchers examined the effects of polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics on the body size, swim speed, and clonal growth rate of the freshwater crustacean Daphnia dentifera, assessing sublethal physiological and behavioural impacts of two common plastic polymer types.

2025 SPARK Scholarship at Parkland (Parkland College)
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastics on the demography of Brachionus calyciflorus Pallas (Rotifera) over successive generations

Researchers examined how microplastic exposure affects the population dynamics of a freshwater rotifer species across two successive generations. They found that microplastics reduced reproduction rates and lifespan, with effects carrying over into the second generation even when exposure was removed. The study suggests that microplastic pollution may have lasting population-level consequences for small aquatic organisms.

2024 Aquatic Toxicology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing the toxicity of polystyrene beads and silica particles on the microconsumer Brachionus calyciflorus at different timescales

Researchers assessed the toxicity of polystyrene microbeads and silica particles to the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus at multiple timescales, finding that both particle types caused dose-dependent toxic effects that evolved differently over short-term and long-term exposure periods.

2022 Frontiers in Environmental Science 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics: toxicity and Bioacumulation at the first trophic levels of the food chain

Using standardized ecotoxicity tests, researchers exposed the water flea Daphnia magna and the alga Desmodesmus subspicatus to polyethylene microspheres — the kind widely used in cosmetic exfoliants — and found measurable harm at low concentrations. Crucially, adult Daphnia were ten times more sensitive than juveniles, and microscopy confirmed that microplastics physically accumulated in the animals' digestive tracts, showing that contamination begins at the very base of the food chain.

2023 MOJ Biology and Medicine 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Algal density affects the influences of polyethylene microplastics on the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus

The effects of polyethylene microplastics (10-22 micrometers) on the freshwater rotifer Brachionus were studied at varying algal densities to evaluate how food availability modifies microplastic toxicity. Algal density significantly modulated microplastic impacts on rotifer population growth and reproduction, highlighting the importance of ecological context in microplastic toxicity assessments.

2020 Chemosphere 48 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

Nanoplastics toxicity : microalgae and rotifers studies

This thesis investigated the toxicity of nanoplastics — plastic particles smaller than 100 nm — on microalgae and rotifers, two key components of aquatic food webs. The study found evidence of harm at concentrations that may be relevant to the environment, raising concerns about the ecological effects of nanoplastics as they accumulate in the ocean.

2019 Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT)
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics on Aquatic Animals: A Case Study on Daphnia

Researchers exposed Daphnia water fleas to ten types of virgin plastic materials (HDPE, LDPE, PA, PVC, PP, PS, TPU, etc.) and measured survival, reproduction, and behavioral endpoints, finding that PVC and certain engineering plastics caused the greatest acute toxicity while softer polyolefins had lower effects.

2025 Journal of Natural Science Review
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

Toxic effects of fragmented polyethylene terephthalate particles on the marine rotifer Brachionus koreanus: Based on ingestion and egestion assay, in vivo toxicity test, and multi-omics analysis

Scientists tested the effects of fragmented PET microplastics, one of the most common types found in the ocean, on tiny marine organisms called rotifers. While the microplastics did not directly kill the rotifers, they increased oxidative stress and disrupted energy metabolism and immune-related genes. Since rotifers are at the base of the marine food chain, damage to these organisms could have ripple effects that eventually reach humans through seafood.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Metabolism deficiency and oxidative stress induced by plastic particles in the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis: Common and distinct phenotypic and transcriptomic responses to nano- and microplastics

Researchers found that nanoplastics caused stronger reproductive and population growth inhibition in the marine rotifer Brachionus plicatilis than microplastics, with transcriptomic analysis revealing distinct size-dependent toxicity pathways involving metabolism deficiency and oxidative stress.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of polystyrene microplastics on Daphnia magna: A laboratory and a mesocosm study

Laboratory tests and mesocosm experiments with Daphnia magna and polystyrene microplastics found that effects at high concentrations were more related to food dilution than direct toxicity, and population-level effects in mesocosms were minimal. The study emphasizes the importance of using realistic concentrations and multi-species systems to assess microplastic risks.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 78 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on key reproductive and biochemical endpoints of the freshwater microcrustacean Daphnia magna

Researchers studied how microplastics affect reproduction and biochemistry in the freshwater water flea Daphnia magna, a widely used indicator species. They found that microplastic exposure led to changes in reproductive output and altered key biochemical markers in these small crustaceans. The study suggests that even tiny plastic particles can disrupt important biological functions in freshwater organisms that form the base of aquatic food webs.

2024 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Screening study of four environmentally relevant microplastic pollutants: Uptake and effects on Daphnia magna and Artemia franciscana

Researchers exposed Daphnia water fleas and brine shrimp to four real-world microplastic types from consumer products, finding that smaller particles were ingested more readily by daphnids, that gut accumulation depended on particle size, and that while no acute lethality occurred, brine shrimp growth was impaired.

2018 Chemosphere 167 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

The complexity of micro- and nanoplastic research in the genus Daphnia – A systematic review of study variability and a meta-analysis of immobilization rates

This meta-analysis examines how micro- and nanoplastics affect Daphnia, a tiny water creature widely used to test the toxicity of pollutants. The research found that plastics can harm Daphnia survival and reproduction, which matters because these organisms are at the base of freshwater food chains that ultimately connect to human water and food sources.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Variable Fitness Response of Two Rotifer Species Exposed to Microplastics Particles: The Role of Food Quantity and Quality

This study examined how different sizes and types of microplastics affect two rotifer species, which are small aquatic animals important to freshwater food webs. The effects varied depending on the particle size, shape, and the amount and quality of food available to the rotifers. The findings show that the impact of microplastics on aquatic organisms depends heavily on environmental context, making risk assessment complex.

2021 Toxics 12 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

Long Term Exposure to Virgin and Recycled LDPE Microplastics Induced Minor Effects in the Freshwater and Terrestrial Crustaceans Daphnia magna and Porcellio scaber

Long-term exposure studies of freshwater and terrestrial crustaceans to virgin and recycled LDPE microplastics found only minor effects on survival, reproduction, and immune response, suggesting that LDPE at tested concentrations poses limited chronic hazard to these species.

2021 Polymers 43 citations
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

Effects of microplastics on reproductive characteristics and mechanisms of the marine rotifer Brachionus plicatilis

Researchers exposed marine rotifers (tiny animals at the base of the ocean food chain) to naturally aged microplastics collected from Japanese coastal waters and found reduced reproduction and population growth. The microplastics triggered oxidative stress and suppressed genes involved in reproduction. Since rotifers are food for many fish species, harm to their populations could ripple up through the food chain.

2024 Scientific Reports 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of PET microplastics on the freshwater crustacean Daphnia similis Claus, 1976

Researchers investigated the effects of PET microplastics on the freshwater crustacean Daphnia similis, finding that high concentrations impaired survival and reproduction while sublethal levels altered antioxidant enzyme activity.

2023 Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of nanoplastics on life-history traits of marine rotifer (Brachionus plicatilis) are recovered after being transferred to clean seawater

Marine rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) were exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics across two generations and then transferred to clean seawater, with results showing that life-history impairments including reduced reproduction recovered after removal of plastic exposure. The finding suggests that nanoplastic effects on zooplankton are reversible upon return to clean conditions, though generational exposure still caused measurable harm.

2022 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Daphnia reproductive impacts following chronic exposure to micro- and nano-scale particles from three types of rubber

Researchers exposed tiny freshwater crustaceans called Daphnia to micro- and nano-sized rubber particles from tires and recycled rubber over their full lifespan. They found that all three types of rubber particles drastically reduced reproduction and that these effects carried over into the next generation. The study demonstrates that tire-related microplastics pose a serious long-term threat to aquatic invertebrate populations.

2024 Environmental Chemistry 4 citations