Microplastics have become a significant problem in the marine environment where a wide range of marine organisms can ingest them. Biodegradable plastics or bioplastics, which are now being widely sourced as an alternative to conventional non-biodegradable plastics, are also known to breakdown into microparticles. This study aims to investigate the interaction between two types of microbeads towards the reproductive and development functions of the harpacticoid copepod, Nitokra lacustris pacifica. Polystyrene (PS) microspheres were used as the synthetic treatment, while microbeads produced from bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) copolymer were used as the biodegradable treatment. Exposure to microplastics at concentrations of ~ 700 microbeads mL⁻¹ exhibited a significant reduction in algal (Nannochloropsis sp.) ingestion. No differences were observed egg production rate (9.3–10.5 eggs fem⁻¹ day⁻¹), but nauplius production was significantly reduced in PS microbead treatment (40%). Development time of N. lacustris pacifica from egg to adult in control (Nannochloropsis sp.) and PHA microbead treatments was significantly shorter (10.7 and 11.2 days, respectively) than in PS microbead treatment (14 days). Similarly, during the extended exposure, no differences were observed in the egg production rate, but nauplius production was significantly affected (< 14%) compared to control and PHA treatments (> 60%).

在多种海洋生物可摄取的海洋环境中，微塑料已成为一个重大问题。还已知可生物降解的塑料或生物塑料可广泛地用作常规不可生物降解的塑料的替代品，它们可分解成微粒。这项研究旨在调查两种类型的微珠之间的相互作用对类拟co足类，足Nitokra lacustris pacifica的生殖和发育功能的影响 。聚苯乙烯（PS）微球用作合成处理，而细菌多羟基链烷酸酯（PHA）共聚物生产的微珠则用作可生物降解处理。暴露于约700微珠mL ^-1的微塑料中藻类（Nannochloropsis  sp。）的摄入量显着减少。没有观察到产卵率的差异（9.3-10.5个卵fem ^-1 天^-1），但在PS微珠处理中无节幼体的产量显着降低（40％）。 在对照（Nannochloropsis  sp。）和PHA微珠处理中，湖沼猪从卵到成虫的发育时间 明显短于PS微珠处理（14天）（分别为10.7和11.2天）。同样，在长时间接触中，产卵率没有差异，但是与对照和PHA处理（> 60％）相比，无节幼体的产卵率受到显着影响（<14％）。