Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Difference in sensitivity of Daphnia magna to pristine and aged microplastic fibers

Researchers compared the acute and chronic toxicity of pristine versus UV-aged polyamide, polyacrylonitrile, and polyester microplastic fibers on the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna, also testing natural wool and cellulose fibers as references. Aged plastic fibers showed different toxicity profiles than unaged fibers, with effects on survival, reproduction, growth, and oxygen consumption.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Effects of Polyester Fibers and Car Tire Particles on Freshwater Invertebrates

Researchers assessed the ingestion and effects of polyester fibers and car tire particles on four freshwater invertebrate species under acute and chronic exposure conditions. The study found that while both microplastic types were ingested by all species tested, car tire particles caused greater mortality in Daphnia magna and Hyalella azteca. The results suggest that the chemical composition of microplastics plays an important role in their toxicity to freshwater organisms.

2022 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Acute toxicity of natural and synthetic clothing fibers towards Daphnia magna: Influence of fiber type and morphology

Researchers tested the toxicity of natural and synthetic clothing fibers on small freshwater organisms (Daphnia magna) and found that nylon microfibers were acutely toxic, while natural fibers like cotton and silk caused no significant harm. Smoother fibers were more toxic than frayed ones, and the actual ingestion of fibers mattered more than how many were present in the water. These findings are important because textile fibers make up a large portion of microplastics in waterways and can enter the human food chain through contaminated aquatic organisms.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Difference in sensitivity of Daphnia magna to pristine and aged microplastic fibers

Researchers compared the sensitivity of Daphnia magna to pristine versus aged microplastic fibers, which make up a large proportion of environmental plastic pollution. Aged fibers showed different toxicity profiles than pristine fibers, highlighting the need to use environmentally weathered particles in ecotoxicology tests.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
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

Microplastics modify the toxicity of glyphosate on Daphnia magna

Daphnia magna were exposed to three glyphosate formulations combined with polyethylene microbeads or PET/PA fibers for one week, finding that microplastics altered (mostly reduced) the toxicity of glyphosate depending on formulation and plastic type. The study demonstrates that microplastics can modulate pesticide bioavailability and toxicity in freshwater crustaceans.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 107 citations
Article Tier 2

Multi-level approach to investigate sublethal effects caused by synthetic and natural microfibers on Daphnia magna

Researchers exposed freshwater organisms including amphipods and oligochaetes to synthetic and natural microfibers at multiple levels of biological organization, finding that both fiber types caused sublethal physiological and behavioral effects, with synthetic fibers generally producing greater harm.

2025 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
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

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
Article Tier 2

Virgin and UV-weathered polyamide microplastics posed no effect on the survival and reproduction of Daphnia magna

Researchers found that neither virgin nor UV-weathered polyamide microplastics affected the survival or reproduction of Daphnia magna, suggesting this polymer type poses limited acute toxicity to freshwater zooplankton under tested conditions.

2022 PeerJ 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Ingestion of micro- and nanoplastics in Daphnia magna – Quantification of body burdens and assessment of feeding rates and reproduction

Researchers used a quantitative approach to measure how the water flea Daphnia magna ingests and excretes micro- and nanoplastic particles of different sizes. They found that larger 2-micrometer particles were ingested in greater mass than 100-nanometer particles, and that complete excretion did not occur within 24 hours. Chronic exposure reduced feeding rates and reproduction, suggesting that ongoing microplastic exposure could have meaningful ecological consequences for these important freshwater organisms.

2017 Environmental Pollution 536 citations
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 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

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
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

Microplastic and Organic Fibres in Feeding, Growth and Mortality of Gammarus pulex

Researchers found that microplastic fibres and organic fibres (cotton and wool) had measurable effects on the feeding, growth, and mortality of the freshwater crustacean Gammarus pulex, with both fibre types posing ecological risks in aquatic environments.

2021 Environments 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Daphnia magna as a model animal for assessing microplastic toxicity

This review examines Daphnia magna as a model organism for assessing microplastic toxicity, highlighting how this freshwater crustacean is used to study ingestion, accumulation, and biological effects of microplastics including those from pandemic-era personal protective equipment.

2023 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of chronic exposure to environmentally realistic microplastics on Daphnia magna: importance of particle size and morphology and implications for risk assessments

Scientists tested how tiny plastic particles from everyday items like nylon fibers and polystyrene cups affect small water creatures called Daphnia over 21 days. They found that these microplastics get eaten by the creatures and can harm their ability to reproduce and grow, especially the fiber-shaped plastics. This matters because it shows how plastic pollution in water can damage aquatic life, and since microplastics are also found in our drinking water and food, understanding these effects helps us better assess potential risks to human health.

2026 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

Environmental hazard of polypropylene microplastics from disposable medical masks: acute toxicity towards Daphnia magna and current knowledge on other polypropylene microplastics

Researchers assessed the acute toxicity of polypropylene microplastics derived from disposable medical masks to Daphnia magna water fleas. They found that mask-derived microplastics caused toxic effects at environmentally relevant concentrations. The study raises concerns that the massive increase in disposable face mask use during the pandemic has introduced a new source of harmful microplastic pollution into aquatic environments.

2022 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 74 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

Cotton and polyester microfibers cause chronic toxicity in the freshwater invertebrate Chironomus dilutus

Researchers compared the chronic toxicity of cotton and polyester microfibers on the freshwater invertebrate Chironomus dilutus, testing both clean fibers and fibers soaked in wastewater treatment effluent. The study found that both fiber types caused toxic effects, highlighting that microfiber pollution in aquatic environments is not limited to synthetic plastics and that associated chemicals can increase toxicity.

2026 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Sublethal impacts of fragmented polyethylene nanoplastics on Daphnia magna following chronic exposure

Researchers exposed Daphnia magna (water fleas) to fragmented polyethylene nanoplastics over a chronic period and observed adverse sublethal effects. The study suggests that even at concentrations that do not cause outright mortality, fragmented nanoplastics from real-world polyethylene degradation can impair the health and function of these important freshwater organisms.

2026 Environmental Science Advances
Article Tier 2

The Effects of Natural and Anthropogenic Microparticles on Individual Fitness in Daphnia magna

Researchers compared the effects of natural and anthropogenic microparticles on the fitness of the water flea Daphnia magna. The study found that both primary microplastics from cosmetic products and secondary microplastics from degraded plastic waste can have detrimental effects on zooplankton feeding and fitness, with particle shape and weathering influencing toxicity.

2016 PLoS ONE 463 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of synthetic and natural microfibers on Daphnia magna–Are they dependent on microfiber type?

Researchers compared the effects of synthetic microfibers (polyester and polypropylene) and natural microfibers (lyocell) on the water flea Daphnia magna. The study found that even natural microfibers caused significant harm, including reduced gut microvilli length, impaired nutrient absorption, growth inhibition, and mortality, confirming that microfiber toxicity is not limited to synthetic materials.

2021 Aquatic Toxicology 76 citations