Abstract
As plastic is increasingly found in natural environments, concern has grown about its biological effects beyond individual-level impacts, particularly on species health, food-web dynamics and ecosystem functioning. In this Review, we summarize current evidence on plastic exposure pathways, organismal responses and potential effects at higher levels of biological organization. Impacts on individual organisms can be acute or chronic, and include physiological stress, disrupted locomotion, feeding and reproduction, internal injury, and death. Sublethal effects might not be immediately detectable but can have profound implications for individual fitness. Although macroplastics can cause mortality, their role in population declines remains largely uncertain, and demonstrated impacts beyond the individual level are rare. Clear evidence of population-level harm from microplastics to wild organisms is lacking. Nevertheless, emerging research demonstrates a growing likelihood of broader effects, particularly for species with high plastic-encounter rates. Connecting environmental exposure to individual-level fitness and population-level consequences is a critical frontier. Future research must prioritize long-term monitoring, demographic modelling and high-throughput methods to accurately quantify risks to biodiversity. Effective solutions must be context-specific, span local to global scales, account for interactions with other stressors and integrate plastic pollution mitigation policies with broader conservation strategies to safeguard biodiversity in the Anthropocene.
Key points
Thousands of species have been found to interact with plastic debris, largely via ingestion or entanglement.
Research has historically focused on marine systems, although studies in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems have expanded rapidly over the past decade.
Most documented impacts occur at the individual level, and relatively little research has explicitly tested for effects at population, community or ecosystem levels.
For macroplastics, emerging evidence indicates potential effects on populations and ecosystems in highly exposed or vulnerable contexts, whereas comparable evidence for microplastics in wild populations remains lacking.
Preventing biodiversity effects will require coordinated actions across local, regional and global scales that reduce plastic exposure while accounting for interactions with other environmental stressors.
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Acknowledgements
The authors express their gratitude for the support provided by their respective institutions. M.S.S. thanks R. Anderson for editorial assistance. This work was supported by The Global Plastic Ingestion Bioindicators (GPIB) project. GPIB is an Ocean Decade-sponsored project under the SMARTNET Program. GPIB aims to advance plastic pollution research beyond baseline assessments by evaluating trends, risks and effects on species and ecosystems.
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M.S.S. led the writing of the first draft with contributions from all authors. E.L.M., C.D. and R.G.S. compiled the data used to create Figs. 2 and 3. M.S.S., E.L.M., A.M.B. and L.M.T.H. conceived and drafted the figures. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript before submission.
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Nature Reviews Biodiversity thanks Tamara Galloway and Víctor Martín-Vélez for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
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Related links
Barcelona Convention: https://www.unep.org/unepmap/who-we-are/barcelona-convention-and-protocols
Basel Convention: https://www.basel.int/
G20 Action Plan on Marine Litter: https://resolutions.unep.org/resolutions/uploads/g20_mpl_1st_followup_report191029.pdf
International legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution: https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution
London Convention: https://www.imo.org/en/ourwork/environment/pages/london-convention-protocol.aspx
MARPOL Annex V: https://www.imo.org/en/ourwork/environment/pages/garbage-default.aspx
OSPAR Convention: https://www.ospar.org/work-areas/eiha/marine-litter/regional-action-plan
Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/40/oj/eng
The EU Single-Use Plastics Directive: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/plastics/single-use-plastics_en
The Global Commitment: https://www.unep.org/new-plastics-economy-global-commitment
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/marine-environment/implementation-marine-strategy-framework-directive_en
The Ocean Plastics Charter: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/international-commitments/ocean-plastics-charter.html
Toxicity of Microplastics Explorer: https://sccwrp.shinyapps.io/aq_mp_tox_shiny/
UN Regional Sea Conventions: https://www.unep.org/topics/ocean-seas-and-coasts/regional-seas-programme
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Savoca, M.S., Murphy, E.L., Brandon, A.M. et al. The effects of plastic pollution on biodiversity.
Nat. Rev. Biodivers. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-026-00170-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-026-00170-0
Source: Ecology - nature.com
