Papers

20 results
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Review Tier 2

A comprehensive review of the impact of microplastics on aquatic organisms: From ingestion to ecological consequences

This comprehensive review assessed the impacts of microplastics on diverse aquatic organisms—including fish, marine mammals, mollusks, crustaceans, and microorganisms—from ingestion through ecological-level consequences. The authors found that microplastics cause physical injury, oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, and behavioral changes across taxa, with downstream effects on food web structure and ecosystem function.

2025 Applied Chemical Engineering
Review Tier 2

Toxicity and biomarkers of micro-plastic in aquatic environment: a review

This review synthesizes literature on the toxicity and biomarker responses of aquatic organisms to microplastics, covering uptake routes, bioavailability factors, and both lethal and sub-lethal effects. It highlights oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, and genotoxicity as consistent toxic mechanisms across diverse aquatic species.

2020 Biomarkers 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological effects of microplastics and adsorbed contaminants on aquatic organisms

This review summarizes ecotoxicological studies on microplastics and their adsorbed contaminants in microalgae, crustaceans, mollusks, and fish. Across all tested organisms, microplastics caused growth inhibition, reduced reproduction, and physiological stress — particularly when carrying additional chemical contaminants.

2019 Manglar 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological effects of microplastics on biota: a review

This review examines the ecological impact of microplastics on organisms across different levels of the food chain, from plankton to fish. Researchers found that microplastic exposure triggers a range of harmful effects including oxidative stress, immune disruption, reproductive problems, and altered feeding behavior. The evidence suggests that microplastics pose a widespread toxicological threat to wildlife, though more research is needed to understand the long-term population-level consequences.

2018 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 786 citations
Article Tier 2

The organism fate of inland freshwater system under micro-/nano-plastic pollution: A review of past decade.

This review synthesized a decade of research on how micro- and nano-plastics affect freshwater organisms including microalgae, macrophytes, zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, and fish, finding that impacts range from impaired photosynthesis and oxidative stress to reproductive disruption and behavioral changes across multiple biological levels.

2023 Aquatic toxicology (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Article Tier 2

Toxicological review of micro- and nano-plastics in aquatic environments: Risks to ecosystems, food web dynamics and human health.

This review synthesized evidence on the toxicological effects of micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic ecosystems, covering risks to individual organisms, disruptions to food web dynamics, and pathways through which plastic exposure poses risks to human health via seafood consumption.

2024 Ecotoxicology and environmental safety
Article Tier 2

Progress in the Study of Toxic Effects of Microplastics on Organisms in Freshwater Environments and Human Health

This review summarizes the toxic effects of microplastics on algae, aquatic animals, and human health in freshwater environments. Microplastics harm freshwater organisms through oxidative stress, inflammation, and disruption of normal biological functions, with effects that can accumulate up the food chain. The study highlights the urgent need for better plastic waste management to protect both freshwater ecosystems and the human communities that depend on them.

2025 Water 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental toxicology of marine microplastic pollution

This review summarized a decade of research on the environmental toxicology of marine microplastic pollution across different ocean organisms and trophic levels. Researchers found that microplastics can accumulate in marine life from phytoplankton to fish, causing molecular, metabolic, and physiological harm. The study emphasizes that understanding these toxic effects is essential for assessing the broader ecological risks of plastic pollution in ocean environments.

2023 Cambridge Prisms Plastics 32 citations
Article Tier 2

The ecotoxicological impact of microplastics on freshwater invertebrates

This review summarizes the ecotoxicological effects of microplastics on freshwater invertebrates, finding evidence of harm including reduced feeding, growth, and reproduction across multiple species. Because invertebrates are key links in food webs, these effects could have broader consequences for freshwater ecosystems.

2019 CentAUR (University of Reading) 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental and Morphological Detrimental Effects of Microplastics on Marine Organisms to Human Health

This review summarizes evidence that microplastics cause physical damage, oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, and reproductive harm across marine organisms from plankton to fish, and traces the pathway by which marine microplastic exposure may ultimately affect human health.

2022 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicity of micro- and nanoplastics on aquatic algae: Facts, challenges, and future opportunities

This review provides a comprehensive assessment of how micro- and nanoplastics harm aquatic algae, which form the base of ocean and freshwater food chains. The toxic effects include reduced growth, oxidative stress, and disrupted photosynthesis, with nanoplastics generally causing more damage than larger particles. Since algae support the entire aquatic food web, their decline from plastic pollution could reduce the quality and safety of fish and shellfish consumed by people.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Overview of the ecotoxicological impacts of micro and nanoplastics in aquatic environments

This review summarises the ecotoxicological impacts of micro- and nanoplastics on marine and freshwater ecosystems, covering mechanisms including physical damage, oxidative stress, inflammation, reproductive impairment, and metabolic disruption in aquatic species. It also discusses bioaccumulation and trophic transfer dynamics.

2025 Bangladesh Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research
Article Tier 2

Review: Environmental toxicology of marine microplastic pollution — R0/PR2

This review examines the toxicological impacts of microplastics on marine organisms across trophic levels — from phytoplankton to fish — finding diverse biological effects at molecular, metabolic, and physiological levels, while calling for more environmentally relevant research methods.

2023
Article Tier 2

Toxicological impact of micro- and nano-plastics on organisms of soil and water, plants, and humans: a comprehensive review.

This review examined the toxicological impacts of micro- and nano-plastics (MNPLs) on soil and aquatic organisms, plants, and humans. It synthesized evidence of cellular damage, oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, and reproductive toxicity across multiple biological levels.

2025 Environmental science and pollution research international
Article Tier 2

Microplastic exposure and effects in aquatic organisms: A physiological perspective

This review summarizes recent research on how microplastics affect aquatic organisms from a physiological perspective, connecting routes of uptake with effects at the molecular, cellular, and whole-organism level. Researchers highlight that feeding strategies strongly influence which organisms ingest the most microplastics, and that effects range from oxidative stress to reproductive impairment. The study also flags emerging concerns about chemical additives leaching from plastics and the potential for microplastics to serve as substrates for pathogen growth.

2019 Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 333 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental and Toxicological Effects of Microplastics on Aquatic Ecosystems

This review chapter covers the environmental and toxicological effects of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems, examining their distribution in oceans, lakes, and rivers and their negative impacts on the growth, reproduction, and immune function of aquatic organisms. It also addresses the potential for microplastics to enter the human food chain through contaminated seafood.

2025
Review Tier 2

Microplastics in aquatic environments: A review on occurrence, distribution, toxic effects, and implications for human health

This review examines the global occurrence of microplastics in aquatic environments and their potential impacts on both aquatic organisms and human health. Researchers found that microplastics are now present in virtually all freshwater and marine systems, where they cause a range of harmful effects including oxidative stress, inflammation, and reproductive disruption in aquatic species. The study highlights trophic transfer, where microplastics move up the food chain, as a key pathway of human exposure.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 230 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing Impact of Microplastics on Aquatic Food System and Human Health

This review assesses the impact of microplastics on aquatic food systems and human health, noting that aquatic species exposed to microplastics over extended periods can experience oxidative stress, genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and reproductive issues. The study highlights that microplastics also act as carriers for other chemical pollutants in aquatic environments, compounding their potential risks through the food chain.

2023 Preprints.org 12 citations
Article Tier 2

The Harmful Effects of Microplastic Pollution on Aquatic Organisms

This review summarized evidence on the harmful effects of microplastic pollution on aquatic organisms in both marine and freshwater environments, covering ingestion, entanglement, and chemical toxicity pathways. The paper highlighted how the lightweight, durable, and widespread nature of plastics makes them a pervasive threat to aquatic biodiversity.

2024 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science
Review Tier 2

Microplastics as Contaminants in Water Bodies and Their Threat to the Aquatic Animals: A Mini-Review

This review summarizes research on microplastics as aquatic contaminants, covering their origins, global distribution, and harmful effects on aquatic animals including impaired growth, oxidative stress, disrupted gut microbiota, and reproductive and immune system damage.

2022 Animals 23 citations