The DOI matches its Crossref record; 90 of the 90 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Interactions of microplastic debris throughout the marine ecosystem
Open accessAbstract
Marine microscopic plastic (microplastic) debris is a modern societal issue, illustrating the challenge of balancing the convenience of plastic in daily life with the prospect of causing ecological harm by careless disposal. Here we develop the concept of microplastic as a complex, dynamic mixture of polymers and additives, to which organic material and contaminants can successively bind to form an 'ecocorona', increasing the density and surface charge of particles and changing their bioavailability and toxicity. Chronic exposure to microplastic is rarely lethal, but can adversely affect individual animals, reducing feeding and depleting energy stores, with knock-on effects for fecundity and growth. We explore the extent to which ecological processes could be impacted, including altered behaviours, bioturbation and impacts on carbon flux to the deep ocean. We discuss how microplastic compares with other anthropogenic pollutants in terms of ecological risk, and consider the role of science and society in tackling this global issue in the future.
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“Both types of particles trigger a range of toxicologic effects.4,5”
From Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Atheromas and Cardiovascular Events (2024) · cites this paper as [4]
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“In addition to their widespread distribution, because of their small size (typically defined as <5 mm), microplastics are believed to be bioavailable to a wide range of organisms (Botterell et al., 2019;Galloway et al., 2017).”
From No Effect of Realistic Concentrations of Polyester Microplastic Fibers on Freshwater Zooplankton Communities (2024) · cites this paper as Galloway et al., 2017
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Cites
A safe operating space for humanity
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Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean
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Lost at sea: where is all the plastic?
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Understanding biophysicochemical interactions at the nano–bio interface
Nel, A. E., Mädler, L., Velegol, D., Xia, T., Hoek, E. M. V., Somasundaran, P., Klaessig, F., Castranova, V., & Thompson, M. (2009) · Nature Materials · doi:10.1038/nmat2442 · Cited by 7,083
Microplastics as contaminants in the marine environment: A review
Cole, M., Lindeque, P., Halsband, C., & Galloway, T. S. (2011) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.09.025 · Cited by 6,023
Self-citationEriksen, M., Lebreton, L. C. M., Carson, H. S., Thiel, M., Moore, C. J., Borerro, J. C., Galgani, F., Ryan, P. G., & Reisser, J. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111913 · Cited by 4,710
The Physical Impacts of Microplastics on Marine Organisms: A Review
Wright, S. L., Thompson, R. C., & Galloway, T. S. (2013) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2013.02.031 · Cited by 4,524
Self-citationOceanic phytoplankton, atmospheric sulphur, cloud albedo and climate
Charlson, R. J., Lovelock, J. E., Andreae, M. O., & Warren, S. G. (1987) · Nature · doi:10.1038/326655a0 · Cited by 4,305
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Life in the “plastisphere”: microbial communities on plastic marine debris
Zettler, E. R., Mincer, T. J., & Amaral-Zettler, L. A. (2013) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es401288x · Cited by 3,368
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Wright, S., Rowe, D., Thompson, R. C. & Galloway, T. S. Microplastic ingestion decreases energy reserves in marine worms. Curr. Biol. 23, 1031–1033 (2013). · DOI · Paper page
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Microplastics as an emerging threat to terrestrial ecosystems
Machado, A. A. D. S., Kloas, W., Zarfl, C., Hempel, S., & Rillig, M. C. (2017) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/gcb.14020 · Cited by 2,468
Microplastics Can Change Soil Properties and Affect Plant Performance
Machado, A. A. D. S., Lau, C. W., Kloas, W., Bergmann, J., Bachelier, J. B., Faltin, E., Becker, R., Görlich, A. S., & Rillig, M. C. (2019) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b01339 · Cited by 2,225
Bacteria and archaea on Earth and their abundance in biofilms
Flemming, H.-C., & Wuertz, S. (2019) · Nature Reviews Microbiology · doi:10.1038/s41579-019-0158-9 · Cited by 1,729
Rummel, C. D., Jahnke, A., Gorokhova, E., Kühnel, D., & Schmitt-Jansen, M. (2017) · Environmental Science & Technology Letters · doi:10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00164 · Cited by 1,444
A Global Perspective on Microplastics
Hale, R. C., Seeley, M. E., Guardia, M. J. L., Mai, L., & Zeng, E. Y. (2020) · Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans · doi:10.1029/2018jc014719 · Cited by 1,523
Metadata
- Authors
- Galloway, T. S., Cole, M., & Lewis, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Exeter (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Galloway, Tamara S.
- Venue
- Nature Ecology & Evolution
- Published
- 2017-04-20
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 116-116
- ISSN
- 2397-334X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2605932959
- Cited by
- 1,955
- References
- 90
- Citations by year
- 2026: 185 · 2025: 269 · 2024: 261 · 2023: 300 · 2022: 302 · 2021: 227 · 2020: 200 · 2019: 123 · 2018: 70 · 2017: 18
- FWCI
- 5.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature Ecology & Evolution (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) (acceptedVersion)
- Open Research Exeter (University of Exeter) (acceptedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Natural Environment Research Council (NE/L007010/1, NE/L007010, NE/N006178/1, NE/N006178, L007010, NE/L003988/1)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Keywords
- marine plastic pollution, polymer additives, bioavailability, microplastic toxicity, long-term exposure, behavioral effects, bioturbation, ecological risk, anthropogenic pollutants, plastic pollution mitigation
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