Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Immune and Oxidative Stress Response of the Fish Xyrichthys novacula Infected with the Trematode Ectoparasite Scaphanocephalus sp. in the Balearic Islands

Researchers studied the immune and oxidative stress responses of the fish Xyrichthys novacula infected with a parasitic trematode in the Balearic Islands. They found that as infection severity increased, antioxidant enzyme activity and immune markers rose progressively in the fish's skin mucus, though these defenses were insufficient to prevent oxidative damage at high infection levels. The study provides baseline data on how parasitic infections stress wild fish populations in Mediterranean waters.

2023 Fishes 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of water salinity and ammonia exposure on the antioxidative status, serum biochemistry, and immunity of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Researchers tested how combinations of saltwater and ammonia affect the health of Nile tilapia and found that fish raised in high-salinity water with continuous ammonia exposure showed the worst outcomes, including reduced growth, weakened immunity, and tissue damage to gills and intestines. The study suggests moderate brackish water (5–10 ppt) is manageable but high ammonia makes it harmful.

2023 Fish Physiology and Biochemistry 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Anthropization, Salinity and Oxidative Stress in Animals in the Coastal Zone

This review examines how anthropogenic activities and rising coastal salinity combine with oxidative stress in animals living in coastal zones, outlining the physiological mechanisms by which these combined stressors impair aquatic organism health.

2023 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactive Immunomodulation in the Mediterranean Mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Under Thermal Stress and Cadmium Exposure

Combined exposure to elevated temperature and cadmium in Mediterranean mussels triggered complex interactive effects on immune and antioxidant systems, with simultaneous stressors producing non-additive responses that highlight the difficulty of predicting organism health in multiply polluted warming seas.

2021 Frontiers in Marine Science 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of water chemistry and contaminant occurrence on the oxidative stress ecology of Cottus gobio in a high-mountain lake (Carnic Alps)

Researchers examined oxidative stress in a freshwater fish species living in a high-mountain lake in the Italian Alps, analyzing how water chemistry and contaminant levels affected the fish's health. They found seasonal variations in stress biomarkers that correlated with changes in water conditions and the presence of persistent pollutants including microplastics. The study provides insights into how even remote mountain ecosystems are experiencing measurable biological effects from environmental contamination.

2024 Environmental Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

A Biomarker Approach as Responses of Bioindicator Commercial Fish Species to Microplastic Ingestion: Assessing Tissue and Biochemical Relationships

Researchers assessed microplastic intake and antioxidant biomarker responses in three Mediterranean fish species, finding that microplastic ingestion correlated with oxidative stress indicators across red mullet, bogue, and anchovy populations.

2022 Biology 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Presence and Potential Effect of Microplastics Associated with Anthropic Activity in Two Benthic Fishes Serranus scriba and Lithognathus mormyrus

Researchers compared microplastic ingestion and oxidative stress responses in two Mediterranean coastal fish species (Serranus scriba and Lithognathus mormyrus) from sites with different levels of human activity near Mallorca, finding higher microplastic loads and greater antioxidant enzyme activity at the more impacted site.

2025 Fishes
Article Tier 2

Protective role of nano-selenium on Gymnocypris przewalskii under saline–alkaline stress: a comprehensive analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics

Scientists studied a type of fish that lives in very salty, harsh water and found that tiny selenium particles helped protect the fish from stress and damage. The selenium particles worked by changing how the fish's genes and body chemistry responded to the difficult environment. While this study was done in fish, selenium is an important nutrient for humans too, and this research could help scientists better understand how selenium protects our bodies from environmental stress and damage.

2026 Fish Physiology and Biochemistry
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the interplay between environmental microplastics and salinity stress on Mytilus galloprovincialis larval development: A holistic exploration

Researchers studied how environmental microplastics and increased salinity together affect the early development of Mediterranean mussel larvae. The combination caused larval deformities, developmental problems, and changes in gene activity related to shell formation, stress response, and cell damage. These findings are concerning because climate change is altering ocean salinity in coastal areas where microplastic pollution is also heavy, and mussels are a food source that could pass accumulated microplastics to humans.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrated assessment with biomarker responses and metal concentrations on some fish species from İzmir Bay: A preliminary investigation

Researchers conducted a preliminary investigation of antioxidant biomarkers (superoxide dismutase, catalase, malondialdehyde) and heavy metal bioaccumulation (Hg, Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, Mn) in three fish species (Sparus aurata, Chelon labrosus, Diplodus vulgaris) from inner and outer sections of Izmir Bay, Turkey, sampled in November 2019. Using atomic absorption spectrometry and microplate readers, they found higher metal concentrations in liver tissues and elevated Hg and Zn in S. aurata, providing baseline data on pollution-related oxidative stress in coastal fish.

2022 Ege Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Immunoendocrine response to individual or combined exposure of polystyrene nanoplastics and elevated salinity on gilthead seabream

Researchers exposed juvenile gilthead seabream to polystyrene nanoplastics and elevated salinity — individually and in combination — finding tissue-specific immune and endocrine disruption, with the intestine most affected and combined stressor exposure producing substantially stronger responses than either stressor alone.

2026 Frontiers in Endocrinology
Article Tier 2

The Effects of Different Concentrations of Microplastics on the Physiology and Behavior of Sebastes schlegelii

Researchers exposed juvenile black rockfish (Sebastes schlegelii) to polystyrene microplastics for 24 days, finding that concentrations of 0.1 mg/L and above caused significant antioxidant enzyme disruption, immune suppression with rising inflammatory cytokines, and reduced survival at 1 mg/L.

2025 Preprints.org
Article Tier 2

Winter and Summer Variations in the Physiological Parameters of Two Scleractinian Corals in Sanya Bay

Not a microplastics paper — this study examines seasonal changes in the physiology of two coral species in Sanya Bay, China, finding that summer high temperatures and low salinity stress their symbiotic algae and trigger oxidative responses in the corals.

2023 Water 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The Immune System in Antarctic and Subantarctic Fish of the Genus Harpagifer Is Affected by the Effects of Combined Microplastics and Thermal Increase

This study examined how rising ocean temperatures and microplastic exposure affect the immune systems of Antarctic and subantarctic fish of the genus Harpagifer, which are particularly vulnerable due to their ecological specialization. Combined climate and MP stress altered immune gene expression, suggesting these fish face compounding threats from global change.

2025 International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Article Tier 2

The multiple responses of Mytilus galloprovincialis in the multi-stressor scenario: Impacts of low pH, low dissolved oxygen, and microplastics

Researchers exposed Mediterranean mussels to the combined stressors of low pH, low dissolved oxygen, and microplastics for 15 days. While whole-organism functions like respiration were unaffected, the study found significant cellular-level impacts, suggesting that microplastics interact with ocean acidification and deoxygenation to cause subtle but measurable stress in marine invertebrates.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Concurrent impacts of polystyrene nanoplastic exposure and Aeromonas hydrophila infection on oxidative stress, immune response and intestinal microbiota of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)

Researchers studied the combined effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and a bacterial infection on grass carp, a common freshwater fish. They found that nanoplastic exposure worsened the impact of the infection by increasing oxidative stress, suppressing immune responses, and disrupting the gut microbiome. The study suggests that nanoplastic pollution in waterways could make fish more vulnerable to disease by weakening their natural defenses.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure to global change and microplastics elicits an immune response in an endangered coral

Researchers exposed an endangered coral species to combined stressors of elevated seawater temperature, reduced pH, and microplastics, finding that these global change factors together with local microplastic pollution elicit measurable immune responses, suggesting additive or synergistic stress effects on reef-building corals.

2022 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular response to multiple trace element contamination of the European sardine

This study examined the molecular responses of European sardines to trace element contamination in the Mediterranean Sea. Researchers analyzed physiological biomarkers to understand how anthropogenic pollutants affect this ecologically important marine species, which has been experiencing population declines in the region since 2008.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Acute microplastic exposure raises stress response and suppresses detoxification and immune capacities in the scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis

Researchers exposed the reef-building coral Pocillopora damicornis to microplastics and found elevated stress responses along with suppressed immune and cellular defense capacities. The study suggests that microplastic pollution could compromise coral health by overwhelming stress pathways while simultaneously weakening the organisms' ability to cope with other environmental threats.

2018 Environmental Pollution 286 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution and Its Physiological Effects on the Top Fish Predator Dentex dentex from the Western Mediterranean

Researchers examined common dentex fish from coastal waters near Ibiza and found microplastics in over 90% of specimens, averaging about 6.6 particles per individual. Fish with higher microplastic loads showed increased detoxification and antioxidant enzyme activity in their digestive tracts compared to fish with lower loads. The findings indicate that microplastic ingestion triggers localized physiological stress responses in this commercially important Mediterranean predator.

2025 Microplastics 1 citations