Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Priorities identification of habitat restoration for migratory birds under the early dry season: A case study of Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake wetlands, China

This paper is not about microplastics; it develops a priority framework for wetland habitat restoration for migratory birds at Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake in China, focusing on ecological and landscape analysis with no connection to microplastic research.

2023 Research Square (Research Square) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Protecting and restoring habitats to benefit freshwater biodiversity

This paper reviews how protecting and restoring freshwater habitats can help reverse the steep decline in river, lake, and wetland biodiversity. Human activities like damming, agriculture, and urbanization have fragmented and degraded these ecosystems at alarming rates. While not focused on microplastics specifically, the review is relevant because reducing pollution, including plastic waste, is a key part of freshwater habitat restoration strategies.

2023 Environmental Reviews 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Source, fate, toxicity, and remediation of micro-plastic in wetlands: A critical review

Researchers reviewed how microplastics enter, accumulate in, and damage natural wetlands — ecosystems that filter water and support biodiversity — finding that while wetlands may actually trap plastic particles like a sink, the resulting contamination poses serious ecological risks that are still poorly understood.

2024 Watershed Ecology and the Environment 13 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Species-specific accumulation of microplastics in different bird species from South China: A comprehensive analysis

Across 24 bird species in South China, insectivorous birds accumulated significantly more small microplastics (under 0.1 mm) than other feeding guilds, while piscivorous birds accumulated more large microplastics (over 1 mm). Diet source was a stronger predictor of microplastic contamination than trophic level or body weight, with polypropylene and PET as the dominant polymer types found.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination in waterbirds and their habitats: evidence from little egrets (Egretta garzetta) in tropical rice fields

Researchers investigated microplastic contamination in little egrets and their rice field habitats in tropical southern China. They found microplastics in water, sediment, feathers, and fecal samples, with fiber-shaped particles being the most common type. The study suggests that waterbirds can serve as useful indicators of microplastic pollution levels in agricultural wetland environments.

2025 Environmental Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

[Pollution Characteristics of Microplastics in Migratory Bird Habitats Located Within Poyang Lake Wetlands].

Researchers found microplastics in surface water, sediment, and the droppings of migratory birds at a Chinese wetland lake, raising concerns about how birds can transport microplastics across long distances. The study suggests that migratory birds may be spreading plastic contamination between distant habitats.

2019 PubMed 22 citations
Article Tier 2

A new holistic perspective to assess the ecological risk of microplastics: A case study in Baiyangdian Basin, China

Researchers developed a more comprehensive method for assessing the ecological risks of microplastic pollution by considering not just concentration but also the physical and chemical properties of the particles. Applied to a Chinese wetland basin, the approach revealed that traditional methods significantly underestimate the true ecological risk, with human activity and poor water flow contributing to the highest danger zones.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic pollution in a special protected area for migratory birds

This study measured plastic pollution — including microplastics — in a special protected area designated for migratory birds, finding widespread contamination despite the area's protected status. The presence of plastics poses ingestion and entanglement risks to bird species that rely on the habitat.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics footprint in nature reserves-a case study on the microplastics in the guano from Yancheng Wetland Rare Birds National Nature Reserve, China

Researchers found microplastics in the droppings of birds at a protected nature reserve in China, with fibers and polyethylene being the most common types. Different bird species had varying levels of contamination depending on their habitat and feeding behavior, with aquatic birds generally ingesting more microplastics. This study shows that even wildlife in protected areas is exposed to microplastic pollution, which can move through food chains.

2024 Environmental Research 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Birds as bioindicators of plastic pollution in terrestrial and freshwater environments: A 30-year review

This 30-year review of 106 studies examines how birds in freshwater and land environments are affected by plastic pollution. Most research has focused on larger plastic pieces, while microplastic exposure in these bird species is understudied and nanoplastic exposure has not been investigated at all. The authors urge researchers to develop standardized methods for measuring small plastic particles in birds, which could serve as valuable warning signs of plastic pollution across ecosystems.

2024 Environmental Pollution 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Pollution and Its Impact on Biodiversity

This review examines the relationship between plastic pollution and biodiversity loss, analyzing how microplastics degrade natural habitats, disrupt ecosystems, and threaten species survival, drawing on scientific literature to assess the sources, forms, and ecological impacts of plastic contamination across terrestrial and aquatic environments.

2024 Practice, progress, and proficiency in sustainability 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Birds and plastic pollution: recent advances

This review summarizes how plastic pollution affects birds across both aquatic and terrestrial habitats, covering ingestion, entanglement, and chemical exposure from macro- and microplastics. Researchers found that hundreds of bird species have accumulated plastic in their tissues, with effects ranging from physical injury to hormonal disruption and reproductive harm. The study positions birds as valuable indicator species for monitoring the broader environmental impact of plastic pollution.

2021 Avian Research 140 citations
Article Tier 2

Existence of Microplastic as Pollutant in Harike Wetland: An Analysis of Plastic Composition and First Report on Ramsar Wetland of India

This first-ever study of microplastics in Harike Wetland, India's largest northern wetland and a Ramsar-designated protected site, found plastic particles throughout the water and sediment. The contamination of this internationally recognized conservation area highlights that even protected freshwater ecosystems are not shielded from microplastic pollution.

2021 Current World Environment 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Quantification in Aquatic Birds: Biomonitoring the Environmental Health of the Panjkora River Freshwater Ecosystem in Pakistan

Researchers raised ducks on the banks of the Panjkora River in Pakistan for over four months to assess microplastic contamination in a freshwater ecosystem through biomonitoring. They found microplastics present in the gastrointestinal tracts of all sampled birds, with fibers and fragments being the most common types, primarily composed of polyethylene and polypropylene. The study demonstrates that aquatic birds can serve as effective biological indicators of microplastic pollution levels in river systems.

2023 Toxics 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Multidimensional Assessment of Microplastic Pollution in Mangrove Wetlands: Driving Mechanisms, Carbon Contribution, and Ecological Risk

Scientists found tiny plastic particles called microplastics throughout mangrove wetlands in China, with the highest levels in areas used for fishing and fish farming. These plastic particles are building up in the sediment and water, creating pollution hotspots that pose moderate ecological risks to these important coastal ecosystems. This matters because mangroves help protect coastlines and support marine life that humans depend on for food, so plastic pollution in these areas could ultimately affect our food supply and coastal protection.

2026 Environmental Science & Technology
Article Tier 2

Microplastics (MPs) distribution in Surface Sediments of the Freidounkenar Paddy Wetland

Researchers documented microplastic contamination for the first time in the sediments of Freidounkenar International Wetland in northern Iran, finding 1,368 MP/kg with fibers and fragments dominating, posing a risk to migratory bird habitat.

2022 Environmental Pollution 24 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Recent advances towards micro(nano)plastics research in wetland ecosystems: A systematic review on sources, removal, and ecological impacts

Wetland ecosystems act as important sinks for micro- and nanoplastics, which were found to cause ecotoxicological effects on wetland plants, animals, and microbial communities, including shifts in microbial composition relevant to pollutant removal. Micro/nanoplastics exposure also affected conventional pollutant removal efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions from wetland systems.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Caracterización de Microplásticos en Agua y Sedimentos en Los Humedales Los Pantanos De Villa, Chorrillos, Lima, Perú

Researchers characterized microplastics in water and sediment samples from Los Pantanos de Villa wetland in Lima, Peru — a RAMSAR-designated internationally important site for migratory birds. The study documents microplastic contamination in a protected coastal wetland, raising concerns about wildlife exposure at this critical habitat.

2023 Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Habitat recovery and restoration in aquatic ecosystems: current progress and future challenges

This review covers the current progress and future challenges in habitat recovery and restoration of aquatic ecosystems degraded by human pressures. The study highlights how contaminants including microplastics contribute to biodiversity decline and discusses strategies for reversing environmental degradation and restoring lost ecosystem functioning.

2016 Aquatic Conservation Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 327 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing wetlands ecological risk through an adaptive cycle framework

Not relevant to microplastics — this paper develops an ecological risk assessment framework for wetlands based on adaptive cycle theory, applied to Kunshan, China, focusing on climate change and human impacts rather than plastic contamination.

2023 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Risk assessment of microplastics in China's largest freshwater lake for Siberian cranes

Researchers assessed microplastic pollution in Poyang Lake, the world's largest wintering site for Siberian Cranes, and modelled the exposure risk to these endangered birds. Using an exposure risk model and non-carcinogenic risk assessment, they identified MP-contaminated food sources as a meaningful threat to crane populations.

2025
Article Tier 2

Urban waterbirds shifting microplastics

Researchers found microplastics in the feces of two urban waterbird species in Kerala, India, with polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene being the most common types. Both juvenile and adult birds were affected equally, suggesting that waterbirds can transport microplastics through ecosystems and serve as indicators of local plastic waste levels in freshwater environments.

2025 Environmental Challenges 2 citations
Article Tier 2

A review on microplastics pollution in coastal wetlands

Researchers reviewed existing studies on microplastic pollution in coastal wetlands — ecosystems like mangroves, salt marshes, and tidal flats — summarizing where microplastics accumulate, how they get there, and how they affect wildlife and ecosystem function. These habitats are especially vulnerable because they sit at the boundary between land and sea, trapping plastics carried by both rivers and ocean tides.

2022 Watershed Ecology and the Environment 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-exposure of microplastics with heavy metals increases environmental pressure in the endangered and rare wildlife reserve: A case study of the zhalong wetland red-crowned crane nature reserve, northeast China

Researchers studied how microplastics and heavy metals interact in the Zhalong Wetland, a nature reserve for endangered red-crowned cranes in northeast China. They found that microplastics in the wetland carried elevated levels of heavy metals on their surfaces, creating a combined contamination risk greater than either pollutant alone. The study raises concerns about the compounded environmental pressures facing protected wildlife areas from multiple pollutant types.

2024 Environmental Pollution 5 citations