Rethinking plastic as a habitat modifier and a transport vector for organisms in aquatic environments
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Plastic pollution is affecting freshwater and marine ecosystems.However, while increasing evidence highlights potential toxicological effects, broader ecosystem-level impacts remain largely overlooked.Recent findings suggest that plastic can undermine ecosystem functioning by altering fundamental fluxes of energy and matter at key interfaces within water environments.This view warrants urgent investigation, as rising plastic concentrations in aquatic ecosystems may disrupt their basic functioning, and current environmental concentrations in heavily polluted environments may already be altering ecosystem structure.
DOI: 10.1002/lol2.70071
Institutions: University of Insubria, Norwegian Institute for Water Research, University of Nevada, Reno, University of Siena, University of Palermo, University of Ljubljana, Brno University of Technology, Akvaplan-niva, Masaryk University, RECETOX, University of Milano-Bicocca, Loughborough University
Language: English
Subfield: Pollution
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,700
Awards: G3995868889, G5350642880
OpenAlex ID: W4415468508