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Editorial: Endocrine disruption in marine species: unraveling pollution and climate change effects
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This editorial introduces research on how microplastics, heavy metals, and climate-driven stressors like ocean warming disrupt hormonal function in marine animals. These endocrine disruptions can affect reproduction, behavior, and survival, with broader consequences for marine food webs.
Endocrine disruption in marine species has emerged as a significant concern in environmental endocrinology, particularly in the context of escalating anthropogenic pressures. Persistent pollutants, including microplastics, heavy metals, and agrochemical residues, alongside climate-induced stressors like ocean warming and acidification, are now recognized as potent modulators of endocrine function in aquatic organisms. These stressors compromise critical physiological and behavioural processes, with potential implications for individual fitness, population viability, and ecosystem stability.Pollution and Climate Change Effects brings together a multidisciplinary set of contributions that examine the mechanistic underpinnings, organismal impacts, and ecological implications of endocrine disruption across marine taxa. This editorial synthesizes the key findings, contextualizes them within the broader scientific discourse, and highlights knowledge gaps and future research directions.The central objective of this Research Topic is to advance the mechanistic understanding of how environmental contaminants and climate-related stressors might perturb endocrine pathways in marine organisms. The articles included address fundamental questions including:• What molecular and cellular mechanisms underlie endocrine disruption in marine systems?• How are physiological endpoints such as growth, reproduction, and stress response altered by exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals?• In what ways do environmental parameters associated with climate change interact with or potentiate these disruptions?• What strategies can be implemented to mitigate endocrine-disruptive effects and reduce pollutant input into marine environments?This collection emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches, bridging molecular endocrinology, marine toxicology, ecophysiology, and environmental policy.Yadetie et al. conducted a study exploring the effects of two endocrine-disrupting chemicals, ethynylestradiol and bisphenol A (BPA, on hormonal and metabolic pathways in the pituitary and liver of female Atlantic cod. The researchers found that both chemicals significantly impact reproductive and metabolic functions.They observed that the expression of key genes involved in hormonal regulation and metabolic homeostasis was altered in the pituitary, while the liver exhibited changes related to triglyceride synthesis, highlighting the systemic influence of these contaminants.Thomas, Fat, and Kearns, in a perspective article, critically examined the environmental and human health risks associated with sunscreen ingredients.They raise concerns over chemicals, such as butylparaben, oxybenzone, and The research compiled in this Topic upholds the ecological and evolutionary significance of endocrine disruption in marine systems. Given the central role of hormones in homeostatic regulation, disruptions at this level can reverberate through biological hierarchies, from molecular signalling to community dynamics. Moreover, the combined effects of contaminants and climate stressors may act synergistically, reducing the adaptive capacity of marine organisms.As a brief closing remark to this research topic, it is important to highlight that future studies should prioritize the following areas to further complement this field of investigation:• Longitudinal and multigenerational studies to assess chronic effects and transgenerational inheritance of endocrine alterations;• Systems-level analyses integrating omics approaches for biomarker discovery;• Ecosystem-based modelling to predict population and community-level outcomes;• Policy-relevant frameworks for translating scientific findings into regulatory actions.Change Effects offers a timely synthesis of current knowledge on how anthropogenic pressures compromise endocrine function in marine organisms.By elucidating mechanisms, identifying sensitive taxa, and proposing mitigation strategies, the contributions collectively advance the field of marine ecotoxicology and support evidence-based conservation and policy-making. As anthropogenic stressors intensify, the integration of endocrine disruption into marine environmental assessments will be critical for the protection of marine biodiversity and ecosystem function.
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Threats of nano/microplastics to reproduction and offspring: Potential mechanisms and perspectives
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This review summarized the evidence on how nano- and microplastics threaten reproduction and offspring health across multiple species, including fish, invertebrates, and mammals. The authors outlined potential mechanisms by which these plastic particles disrupt endocrine function, gonadal development, and embryonic development.
The Impact of Endocrine Disruptions on Animal and Human Organism
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This review examines how endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including bisphenol A, phthalates, and micro- and nanoplastics, interfere with hormonal balance in animals and humans. Researchers describe how these substances interact with hormone receptors, induce epigenetic changes, and disrupt cell signaling pathways affecting reproduction, metabolism, and neurological function. The study highlights that nanoparticles, including microplastics, may amplify endocrine disruption and calls for more research into the molecular pathways involved.
Nano and microplastics: unveiling their profound impact on endocrine health
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This review summarizes existing research showing that micro- and nanoplastics can disrupt the endocrine (hormone) system, altering reproductive hormones, thyroid function, and gene expression in lab and animal studies. Exposure to these particles triggered inflammation markers and oxidative stress in hormone-producing organs, suggesting that widespread plastic pollution may be contributing to rising rates of hormonal and reproductive health problems.
Editorial: Occurrence, impacts, and interactions of plastic pollution in coral reef ecosystems
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Researchers synthesize findings from six coral reef studies showing that microplastic exposure — through tissue ingestion, abandoned fishing gear, and chemical leachates — compounds the physiological damage caused by ocean warming, disrupting host-symbiont regulation, suppressing coral growth, and impairing larval settlement in ways that narrow recovery windows under climate stress.
Editorial: Uncovering physiological mechanisms of aquatic organisms under environmental stress in a changing climate
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This collection of studies shows that ocean warming, acidification, pollution, and even bad diets are stressing marine and freshwater animals, from tuna to whales to crabs, in ways that often cause hidden damage long before any visible signs of harm appear, sometimes predicting death or reproductive failure. It also finds that combined stressors (like warmer water plus nanoplastics) tend to make things worse together than either would alone, a "Trojan horse" effect, which matters for humans too, since these same waterways supply our seafood and drinking water, and pollutants that harm fish physiology may behave similarly in our own bodies. The
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