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Co-occurrence of microplastics and organic/inorganic contaminants in organisms living in aquatic ecosystems: A review

Marine Pollution Bulletin 2023 72 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 65 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Madineh Khoshmanesh, Ali Mohammad Sanati, Bahman Ramavandi

Summary

This review examines studies that measured both microplastics and chemical pollutants (organic and inorganic) in aquatic organisms at the same time. A positive correlation was found between microplastic levels and certain pollutants in organisms, suggesting microplastics may help transport contaminants into living things. The findings raise concerns that seafood contaminated with microplastics could also carry higher levels of toxic chemicals into the human diet.

Most studies on microplastics (MPs) and organisms, regardless of the MPs type and their presence in the environment and organisms, have been performed on a laboratory scale. In this review, reports of simultaneous analysis of the abundance of MPs and organic/inorganic contaminants in aquatic organisms in the natural environment have been collected and bibliometric analysis was performed. Biological and environmental factors affecting MPs absorption by organisms were discussed. The majority of microplastics were identified as fibrous and black with a small size (<500 μm). A positive correlation was reported between microplastic numbers and organic/inorganic contaminants in the tissue of some species. The most positive linear relationship between heavy metal and MPs was reported for Heniochus acuminatus from the Gulf of Mannar. To preserve biodiversity and the risks of transferring MPs and contaminants to aquatic organisms and humans, it is necessary to control microplastic contamination.

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