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Environmental Impact of Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Review of Current Research and Future Directions
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This review examines microplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems, covering chemical, biological, and ecological processes beyond simple physical contamination and identifying priority areas for future research directions.
The worldwide problem of microplastics is a ubiquitous and persistent aquatic stressor that challenges the conventional paradigms of pollution. The complexity of microplastic pollution is far more complex than simple physical contamination, involving complex chemical, biological, and ecological processes. Microplastics are unique chemical substances, new microbial habitats, and co-contaminant vectors, thus affecting organisms from the cellular to the ecosystem level. This review article summarizes the most important scientific progress in understanding the environmental fate of microplastics, their role as the "plastisphere," and their ecotoxicological effects on biological scales. It critically evaluates the persistent uncertainties, such as the nature of trophic transfer and long-term ecosystem feedbacks. We discuss the new paradigms that conceptualize microplastics as dynamic ecological agents and explore the goals of developing standardized monitoring and sustainable remediation strategies. The novelty of this review article is in its integrative approach, combining polymer science, microbial ecology, ecotoxicology, and ecosystem biogeochemistry to offer a holistic perspective on one of the most challenging environmental issues of the Anthropocene era.
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Microplastics Pollution in Aquatic Ecosystems: Challenges and Perspectives
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A comprehensive review covered the challenges and future directions for addressing microplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems, synthesizing knowledge on sources, fate, ecological impacts, and removal strategies. The paper provides a roadmap for research and policy priorities to reduce aquatic microplastic contamination.
Microplastics in the Aquatic Environment: Overview of the Problem and Current Research Areas
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This review summarizes the current state of microplastic research in aquatic environments, covering sources, distribution, ecological impacts, and knowledge gaps. The paper identifies priority research areas needed to better understand and manage microplastic contamination in water bodies.
Microplastic Pollution in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Comparative Review of Sources, Impacts, and Management in Marine and Freshwater Habitats
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This comparative review synthesized research on microplastic sources, distribution, and impacts across marine and freshwater environments, highlighting microbeads and polymer fragmentation as primary contamination drivers. Establishing a unified understanding of microplastic behavior across aquatic habitats is essential for designing monitoring frameworks that track human exposure through drinking water and seafood.
Microplastics Pollution: An Intending Threat for Aquatic Ecosystem Sustenance
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This review summarizes sources, distribution, and ecological impacts of microplastics in aquatic environments, highlighting how ingestion by fish and shellfish and associated chemical toxicity pose growing threats to aquatic ecosystem health.
Environmental perspectives of microplastic pollution in the aquatic environment: a review
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Researchers reviewed how microplastics spread through freshwater and marine environments worldwide, finding they accumulate in sediments, absorb toxic chemicals, and create surfaces where antibiotic-resistant and potentially pathogenic bacteria can thrive. This pollution threat reaches even Antarctica and the deep sea, posing risks throughout aquatic food webs.
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.