Papers

Synergistic Effects of Climate Change and Marine Pollution: An Overlooked Interaction in Coastal and Estuarine Areas

This systematic review examines how climate change and marine pollution, including microplastics, interact to produce combined effects that are worse than either problem alone. These synergistic effects in coastal areas are important to understand because they can amplify the health risks that pollutants pose to marine life and, through the food chain, to humans.

Unlocking secrets of microbial ecotoxicology: recent achievements and future challenges

This review explores how microorganisms interact with environmental pollutants, including microplastics, covering how bacteria can break down pollutants but are also harmed by them. The authors highlight that microplastics create new surfaces in the environment where bacteria form communities, potentially spreading harmful species or antibiotic resistance. Understanding these microbial interactions is critical for developing nature-based solutions to reduce pollution and protect human health.

Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: Rapid degradation of the world’s large lakes

Scientists issued a comprehensive warning that the world's large lakes — critical freshwater sources supporting biodiversity and billions of people — are degrading rapidly due to warming temperatures, habitat destruction, invasive species, and accelerating pollution including microplastics. The review calls for urgent conservation action and a global network of long-term lake monitoring stations to detect and respond to ongoing changes.

Phytomanagement of Metal(loid)-Contaminated Soils: Options, Efficiency and Value

This review examines phytomanagement as a nature-based approach for recovering soils contaminated with metals and metalloids. Researchers found that using plants and associated microorganisms, combined with appropriate site management, can effectively restore soil ecological functions while providing economic value through biomass production. The study suggests that phytomanagement offers a sustainable alternative to conventional soil remediation techniques for large contaminated areas.

Mission Tara Microplastics: a holistic set of protocols and data resources for the field investigation of plastic pollution along the land-sea continuum in Europe

Researchers present a comprehensive set of sampling protocols from the Tara Microplastics mission, which investigated plastic pollution along nine major European rivers by measuring microplastic concentrations, microbial communities, and biophysicochemical parameters along salinity gradients.

A Pan-European study of the bacterial plastisphere diversity along river-to-sea continuums

Researchers conducted a large-scale study of bacterial communities living on microplastic surfaces along river-to-sea pathways in nine major European rivers during the Tara Microplastics mission. They found that microplastics can transport freshwater bacteria into marine environments, representing a potential dispersal mechanism for microorganisms across ecosystems. The study highlights that the plastisphere community composition shifts along the river-sea continuum.

Influence of the microstructure on the compressive behaviour of porous aluminas: From microstructural characterisation to fracture mechanisms

Aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicology considering the soil:water continuum in the Anthropocene context

Editorial: Microbial Ecotoxicology Advances to Improve Environmental and Human Health Under Global Change

This editorial introduces a special journal issue on microbial ecotoxicology, highlighting how microorganisms are affected by environmental contaminants including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and other emerging pollutants. Understanding microbial responses to pollution is critical for assessing broader ecosystem and human health risks.

Why should we matter about fluvial ecosystems with biofilm-embedded microplastics?

This paper asks why fluvial (river) ecosystems with biofilm-embedded microplastics should be a research priority. It is listed as an international audience paper but the abstract contains only that phrase, offering no detail on findings.