Laboratory-based feeding studies ar

Laboratory-based feeding studies are a commonly used approach for the quantification of exposure and associated effects. Often these studies use invertebrate species such as zooplankton, which form the basis of the pelagic food web. Ingestion at this level therefore carries a threat of plastic bioaccumulation and biomagnification to higher trophic levels. Organisms are exposed to relatively homogenous, commercially available, plastic beads to replicate environmental condition. Such studies have confirmed numerous planktonic species are capable of ingesting and egest- ing microplastics, many of which were associated with toxic and physiological effects. Despite a growing body of exposure and affect assessments, the ecological consequences of microplastic ingestion by zooplankton remain unclear. Further, the fate and degradation of microplastics, as a consequence of ingestion is rarely considered.