Here, upon acute (96 h) and chronic (14 days) exposure, ingestion of polystyrene NPs (100 nm) and physiological, biochemical, and cholinergic modulations were analyzed in the water flea Moina macrocopa exposed to different concentrations (0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 μg l-1). Exposed NPs were observed in the internal organs (e.g., digestive tract and foregut) of the water flea. Chronic exposure to the relatively high concentrations resulted in significant decreases in survival, body length, and the total number of molts, whereas reproduction parameter was not affected. Significant increase in oxidative stress biomarker (malondialdehyde) and decrease in the intracellular content of endogenous antioxidant (glutathione) and enzymatic activity of antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione S-transferase) were detected in response to relatively high concentrations of NPs. Transcriptional expression of the hsp70 gene was increased in response to relatively high concentrations of NPs, whereas acetylcholinesterase activity was lowered by the same concentrations of NPs. Taken together, NPs exposure would be a significant modulator on physiological and biochemical metabolism of water flea.

The effects of supplementing ESP-FM (Erythrobactor sp.), freshwater Chlorella (Chlorella sp.), and baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on the nutritional value and mass production of Moina macrocopa, which is used as a live feed for fish fry production, was investigated. Consequently, the effects of feeding the enriched M. macrocopa to the nutritional composition of larval rockfish (Sebastes schlegel) and carp (Cyprinus carpio) was also investigated. Maximum density of M. macrocopa was reached within 15-21 days after inoculation (0.5 to 22 individual/mL), at various temperatures, and either decreased or remained almost constantly thereafter. Protein content and amino acids composition of M. macrocopa were found to be influenced by their respective diets while lipid and ash contents did not considerably change. M. macrocopa fed with baker’s yeast were low in n-3 HUFA content, and those fed on the freshwater chlorella were high in the 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3 HUFA content, and in cultures treated with ESP-FM were high content in n-3 HUFA. The utilization of M. macrocopa as a substitute fish feed for carp and rockfish showed the enrichment nutritional content.