Meta-analysis of the effects of microplastic on fish: Insights into growth, survival, reproduction, oxidative stress, and gut microbiota diversity

•Systematic review of the literature on the impact of MPs on fish under laboratory conditions.•Conducted a meta-analysis on effects including fish growth, survival, reproduction, gut microbiota diversity, and oxidative stress.•Confirmed that exposure to microplastics affects various biological functions in fish.•Providing a more detailed and reliable reference for understanding the toxicological impacts of microplastics. Aquatic ecosystems are primary repositories for microplastics (MPs), which pose significant risks to aquatic organisms. This study addresses the gap in understanding the effects of MPs pollution by analyzing 3,757 biological endpoints from 85 laboratory studies. Overall, our results indicate that MPs exposure significantly inhibits fish growth, survival, and reproductive ability, and increases oxidative damage, specifically, MPs exposure leads to elevated levels of malondialdehyde. However, MPs do not have a significant impact on the diversity of fish gut microbiota. Subgroup and correlation analyses indicate that the extent of various toxic effects is influenced by multiple factors, including MPs’ type, exposure pathway, size, concentration, as well as the aquatic environment or life stage of the fish. In addition, the regression analysis revealed a relationship between the magnitude of toxic effects and the size, concentration, or duration of MPs exposure. This study provides useful information for understanding the potential impacts of MPs on aquatic organisms and offers new insights for the protection and management of aquatic ecosystems. [Display omitted]