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Plastic Interactions with Brazilian Aquatic Organisms: A Systematic Review of Research Trends and Knowledge Gaps
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This systematic review summarizes research on how plastic pollution interacts with aquatic organisms across Brazil's rivers, coasts, and oceans. It identifies major knowledge gaps, including limited studies on microplastic effects in freshwater species and a lack of standardized methods. Understanding these interactions matters because contaminated fish and shellfish can carry microplastics into the human food chain.
While numerous studies in Brazil have investigated plastic interactions with aquatic organisms across various environments, there is no comprehensive overview or identification of research gaps. Using a dataset compiled from scientific studies conducted within the country, we systematically reviewed the current research on plastics in Brazilian aquatic environments. The search yielded 178 publications on plastic interactions with aquatic life in Brazil, published in the past 21 years on plastic pollution in aquatic habitats. Most studies were field-based, assessing plastic ingestion by various organisms. Since 2015, experimental approaches have been developed in the country, with most of studies focusing on particle ingestion by organisms. Fish were the dominant taxonomic group in both field and experimental studies. Microplastics and blue-colored particles were the most studied in terms of size and color. A lack of standardized microplastic sampling and processing methods hinders meta-analyses and regional or national integration levels.
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Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.