Papers

61,005 results
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Review Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in wild populations of decapod crustaceans: A review

Researchers reviewed the occurrence and characteristics of microplastics found in wild populations of decapod crustaceans including crabs and shrimps. They found that fibrous microplastics smaller than 1 mm were the most commonly detected type, and that edible portions generally contained fewer microplastics than non-edible parts. The review highlights the importance of understanding microplastic contamination in commercially valuable crustaceans for both ecological and food safety assessments.

2021 Chemosphere 74 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastics in decapod crustaceans sourced from Australian seafood markets

Forty-eight percent of prawns and crabs purchased from Australian seafood markets contained microplastics, predominantly polyester fibers, with crabs averaging 1.6 pieces per individual and prawns 0.8 pieces. Compared to a worldwide systematic review, microplastic loads in Australian crustaceans were in the lower range of global contamination levels.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic extraction from digestive tracts of large decapods

This study developed and validated a method for extracting microplastics from the digestive tracts of large decapod crustaceans, enabling accurate quantification and polymer identification. The protocol minimizes contamination and is suitable for routine monitoring of seafood species.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in decapod crustaceans: Accumulation, toxicity and impacts, a review

This review summarizes research on microplastic contamination in decapod crustaceans like shrimp, crabs, and lobsters, which are widely consumed as seafood. Studies have found microplastics accumulating in their gills, digestive organs, and gut, with experimental evidence showing oxidative stress, immune damage, and reproductive toxicity. The findings raise concerns about potential human exposure to microplastics through seafood consumption.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 162 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A systematic review on microplastic contamination in marine Crustacea and Mollusca of Asia: Current scenario, concentration, characterization, polymeric risk assessment, and future Prospectives

This systematic review documented microplastic contamination in shellfish and crustaceans across Asia, finding 79 species affected. Since these seafood species are widely consumed, the presence of microplastics — especially polyethylene and polypropylene — in their tissues represents a direct route of human exposure through diet.

2024 Water Environment Research 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Abundance in Edible Crabs and Gastropods on the Blanakan Coast

Researchers sampled water, sediment, crabs, and gastropods along the Blanakan coast of Indonesia and detected microplastics in all sample types, with fragments, films, fibers, and pellets all present — suggesting widespread contamination that poses a food safety concern for local seafood consumed by humans.

2023 Journal of Sustainability Science and Management
Article Tier 2

Microplastic ingestion and retention in penaeid shrimp from the Arabian Sea

Researchers examined the digestive tracts of four commercially harvested shrimp species from the Arabian Sea coast of India and found microplastics in all four, including fibers, pellets, spheres, and fragments made of polyethylene, polystyrene, and other common plastics — providing baseline contamination data for an important seafood source.

2025 Discover Environment 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination in different tissues of cultured giant freshwater prawns for human consumption

Researchers dissected 90 giant freshwater prawns from Thai aquaculture ponds and found an average of 79.3 microplastics per individual across all four body compartments, with the intestinal tract containing the most (26.82/individual) and the exoskeleton the least, raising food safety concerns for human consumption.

2025 Ecologica Montenegrina
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination in wild shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei from the Huizache-Caimanero Coastal lagoon, SE Gulf of California

Researchers found microplastics — predominantly fibers and fragments — in the gastrointestinal tracts, gills, and exoskeletons of wild shrimp from a Gulf of California coastal lagoon, with the gut containing far higher concentrations than other tissues, raising food safety concerns for human consumers.

2022 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics ingestion by deep-sea decapod crustaceans from the Western Mediterranean

Researchers investigated microplastic ingestion by four deep-sea decapod crustacean species in the Sardinian and Catalan regions of the Western Mediterranean, analyzing gastrointestinal tracts from 210 individuals to assess abundance, characterization, and species- and region-level differences, finding ingestion prevalence of approximately 70%.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastic prevalence in epipelagic layer: Evidence from epipelagic inhabiting prawns of north-west Arabian Sea

Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in ten commercial prawn species from the northwest Arabian Sea off Gujarat, India. The study found an average of 590 microplastic particles across gastrointestinal tracts, with significant variation between species and harbors, highlighting concerns about microplastic transfer through commercially important seafood.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastics in scene: A review of the effect of plastics in aquatic crustaceans

Researchers synthesized 10 years of literature on plastic pollution effects across nearly 100 crustacean species, finding that ingestion, bioaccumulation, and trophic transfer are the most studied endpoints, and that crustaceans — spanning marine, freshwater, and estuarine habitats — represent both highly vulnerable organisms and valuable bioindicators for assessing plastic contamination in aquatic food webs.

2022 Environmental Research 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantitative Analysis of Selected Plastics in High-Commercial-Value Australian Seafood by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

Researchers developed a pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry method to detect and quantify five common plastics in Australian seafood including oysters, prawns, squid, crabs, and sardines. They found PVC in all samples tested, with sardines containing the highest total plastic concentration and significant variability between species and even among individuals of the same species.

2020 Environmental Science & Technology 278 citations
Article Tier 2

Accumulation and damage of polyethylene-microplastics to the digestive system of juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp exposed through feed

Researchers fed juvenile Pacific white shrimp diets containing polyethylene microplastics at varying concentrations for 28 days. While survival and growth were not affected, microplastics accumulated in the digestive system and caused tissue damage to the hepatopancreas and intestine, suggesting that even without visible growth effects, microplastic ingestion can cause internal harm to commercially important crustacean species.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in shrimps: a study from the trawling grounds of north eastern part of Arabian Sea

Researchers examined three species of shrimp from trawling grounds in the Arabian Sea and found microplastics in every individual tested, with an average of nearly seven particles per shrimp. Fibers were the most common type of microplastic found, and six different plastic polymers were identified in the shrimps' digestive tracts. The findings confirm that microplastic contamination is widespread in commercially important seafood species, raising questions about potential transfer to human consumers.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 111 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics ingestion by deep-sea decapod crustaceans from the Western Mediterranean

Researchers analyzed microplastic ingestion in four deep-sea decapod crustacean species collected from Sardinian and Catalan Mediterranean waters, dissecting gastrointestinal tracts from 210 individuals and characterizing ingested particles. They found microplastics in approximately 70% of examined specimens, revealing significant ingestion of microplastics by deep-sea benthic crustaceans and differences between Mediterranean regions, highlighting contamination of previously understudied deep-sea fauna.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastic prevalence, diversity and characteristics in commercially important edible bivalves and gastropods in relation to environmental matrices

Researchers assessed microplastic abundance and characteristics in the tissues of commercially important bivalves and gastropods from the southwest coast of India, finding MPs across all five species examined and raising concerns about seafood safety.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Accumulation of microplastic in edible marine species from North Kerala, India

Researchers found microplastics in the edible tissues of three popular seafood species (clams, shrimp, and anchovies) from fish markets in Kerala, India. Fibers and fragments were the most common shapes, with polyethylene and polypropylene being the dominant plastic types. Since these species are consumed whole or with minimal processing, the study highlights a direct pathway for microplastic ingestion by people who eat locally caught seafood.

2025 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastics for dinner: Store-bought seafood, but not wild-caught from the Great Barrier Reef, as a source of microplastics to human consumers

Researchers found that store-bought seafood in Australia contained significantly more microplastics than wild-caught species from the Great Barrier Reef, suggesting that processing and packaging contribute substantially to microplastic contamination in commercial seafood.

2022 Environmental Advances 38 citations
Article Tier 2

First Assessment of Plasticizers in Marine Coastal Litter-Feeder Fauna in the Mediterranean Sea

Five small-sized Mediterranean amphipod crustacean species from coastal litter-feeder habitats were analyzed for plasticizer contamination, finding detectable levels and identifying these litter-feeding invertebrates as potential monitors of microplastic-associated chemical pollution.

2021 Toxics 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and Characteristics of Microplastics in Wild and Farmed Shrimps Collected from Cau Hai Lagoon, Central Vietnam

Researchers measured microplastic occurrence in the gastrointestinal tracts and tissues of four shrimp species (two wild, two farmed) from a Vietnamese lagoon, finding microplastics in all species and providing baseline data on seafood plastic contamination for this region.

2023 Molecules 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Ingestion and adherence of microplastics by estuarine mysid shrimp

Researchers investigated how estuarine mysid shrimp ingest and accumulate microplastics both internally and on their external body surfaces. The study found microplastics in the shrimp's bodies and fecal pellets, and feeding experiments revealed that these organisms readily consume plastic particles, raising concerns about microplastic transfer through marine food webs.

2024 Marine Environmental Research 11 citations
Article Tier 2

The Plastic Signature: Microplastic Ingestion and Phthalate Exposure in Parapenaeus longirostris from Three Tyrrhenian Sites (Mediterranean Sea)

Researchers simultaneously investigated microplastic ingestion and phthalate body burden in the deep-water shrimp Parapenaeus longirostris collected from three Mediterranean coastal areas. MPs were detected in 45% of specimens and urinary phthalate metabolites were elevated, establishing a direct link between seafood MP contamination and human phthalate exposure through consumption.

2025 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

Exploring microplastics in commercial bivalve species and in bivalve aquaculture waters: Insights from the southern Pacific

Microplastics were detected in multiple commercially sold bivalve species (such as mussels and oysters) and in nearby inland and coastal waters. Because bivalves are widely eaten by humans, the findings raise direct concerns about microplastic dietary exposure through seafood consumption.

2025 Water Biology and Security 1 citations