Haney Jacob, Rochman Chelsea M
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Nat Ecol Evol. 2025 May;9(5):762-768. doi: 10.1038/s41559-025-02678-8. Epub 2025 Apr 28.
We are beginning to understand the ecotoxicological effects of plastic pollution at the suborganismal, individual, population and community levels, but research has only just begun to explore the ecological and evolutionary impacts of plastic as a new habitat. The global introduction of plastic waste into aquatic environments introduces diverse and variable habitat modifications, altering ecosystems and potentially forming new ecological niches. This widespread habitat modification spans several aquatic ecosystems, including the pelagic ocean, deep-sea benthos, lakes and rivers. Recent studies suggest that habitat modification may interact with and alter ecological and evolutionary processes, affecting populations, communities and species, for example, through feeding ecology, mating behaviour and dispersal. However, further research is necessary to understand the potential long-term effects of plastic pollution on ecological and evolutionary processes across global aquatic ecosystems. Here, we review this emerging field of research and its trajectory.
我们开始了解塑料污染在亚生物体、个体、种群和群落层面的生态毒理学效应，但关于塑料作为一种新栖息地的生态和进化影响的研究才刚刚起步。全球范围内将塑料垃圾引入水生环境带来了多样且多变的栖息地改变，改变了生态系统，并有可能形成新的生态位。这种广泛的栖息地改变跨越了多个水生生态系统，包括远洋海洋、深海底栖生物、湖泊和河流。最近的研究表明，栖息地改变可能与生态和进化过程相互作用并改变这些过程，例如通过觅食生态、交配行为和扩散来影响种群、群落和物种。然而，有必要进行进一步研究，以了解塑料污染对全球水生生态系统中生态和进化过程的潜在长期影响。在此，我们综述这一新兴研究领域及其发展轨迹。
