Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Aquatic ecosystem indices, linking ecosystem health to human health risks

Researchers reviewed indicators used to assess aquatic ecosystem health and found that most existing tools don't adequately capture the risks that degraded water ecosystems pose to human health and well-being. They propose a new set of combined indicators — covering chemical contaminants, pathogens, and biological markers — to better link ecosystem health monitoring to human health outcomes.

2025 Biodiversity and Conservation 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Standardized Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Biological Index Method for Ecosystem Health Evaluation in Large Waters of Aquaculture Type

Researchers developed a standardized fuzzy comprehensive evaluation biological index method for assessing ecosystem health in large aquaculture-type water bodies, providing a more nuanced tool for monitoring river and lake ecosystem conditions under increasing human environmental pressure.

2022 Academic Journal of Environmental Biology
Article Tier 2

Improving the assessment of ecosystem and wildlife health: microbiome as an early indicator

Researchers reviewed evidence that the microbiome — the community of microorganisms living in environments and within animals — can serve as an early warning system for ecosystem disturbance, rapidly reflecting the impact of human activities before other signs of harm are visible.

2023 Current Opinion in Biotechnology 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastics in our water: Fish microbiomes at risk?

This review examined how microplastics and leached plasticizers affect the gut microbiomes of freshwater and marine fish, summarizing evidence for dysbiosis and reduced microbial diversity and discussing potential consequences for fish immunity, metabolism, and environmental fitness.

2021 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D Genomics and Proteomics 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of a holistic approach for river health assessment: from bioindicators to the ecosystem

Researchers combined chemical, ecological, and fish biomarker data in a citizen-science assessment of the Elsa River in Italy, finding that water quality and ecological health declined progressively downstream, with microplastic ingestion by chub fish peaking near urbanized zones alongside genotoxic effects linked to mercury and organic pollutants.

2025 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbiome Composition and Function in Aquatic Vertebrates: Small Organisms Making Big Impacts on Aquatic Animal Health

This review examines how microbiomes (communities of microorganisms) function in fish and marine mammals, and how environmental stressors like microplastics can disrupt them. Microplastics in water can alter the natural balance of beneficial microbes in aquatic animals, potentially affecting their health and the safety of seafood. Understanding these disruptions matters because changes in fish microbiomes could affect the quality and safety of the fish that end up on our plates.

2021 Frontiers in Microbiology 283 citations
Article Tier 2

The microbial community and functional indicators response to flow restoration in gradient in a simulated water flume

Researchers examined how microbial community structure and functional indicators respond to gradient flow restoration in a simulated water flume, finding that flow regime significantly influences river ecological systems including functional indicators and microbial community composition.

2022 Frontiers in Microbiology 8 citations
Article Tier 2

The sediment of a river having ‘’good ecological status” turned out to be toxic to midge Chironomus riparius larvae: Implication for environmental monitoring?

Researchers found that sediments from a river classified as having good ecological status were toxic to aquatic organisms in bioassays, highlighting that ecological status classifications may not capture all relevant contaminant pressures including microplastics.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Article Tier 2

Testing the health status of marine and fresh waters by investigating microplastics in the stomach contents of different fish species

This PhD project investigated microplastic presence in stomach contents of fish from four sites ranging from a commercial port to a lake, characterizing microplastic types and abundances to assess environmental health status across marine, brackish, and freshwater ecosystems.

2025 CINECA IRIS Institutial Research Information System (University of Genoa)
Review Tier 2

Application of intestinal microbiota in marine fish for assessing the toxicity of typical pollutants: a literature review

This review examines how the gut microbiota of marine fish can serve as biomarkers for assessing the toxic effects of ocean pollutants, including microplastics, heavy metals, antibiotics, and petroleum hydrocarbons. The study highlights that changes in key microbial communities in fish intestines reflect environmental contamination levels and could provide valuable indicators for monitoring marine ecosystem health.

2025 PeerJ 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Tracing the invisible microplastics in river water and fish organs and its implication of riverine ecosystem integrity

Researchers traced microplastics in river water and fish organs from a South Asian river system, finding widespread contamination across multiple tissue types. The study identified the plastisphere concept as a useful framework for understanding how plastic-associated microbial communities accompany microplastics through aquatic food webs.

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

Microplastic exposure across trophic levels: effects on the host–microbiota of freshwater organisms

Researchers examined how microplastic exposure across trophic levels affects the gut microbiota of freshwater organisms, finding that microplastics alter microbial community composition and that effects can transfer through food web interactions.

2022 Environmental Microbiome 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Gut microbiota of aquatic organisms: A key endpoint for ecotoxicological studies

This review examines how environmental contaminants including microplastics, pesticides, heavy metals, and pharmaceuticals affect the gut microbiota of aquatic organisms. Researchers highlight that changes in gut bacterial communities can serve as sensitive indicators of pollution exposure and may have downstream effects on host fitness. The study calls for improved methodologies to better link contaminant-induced shifts in gut microbiota to measurable health outcomes in aquatic species.

2019 Environmental Pollution 261 citations
Article Tier 2

Harnessing environmental DNA: revolutionizing holistic monitoring of aquatic biodiversity for fishery management under the One Health framework

This review paper examines a new monitoring technique called environmental DNA (eDNA) that can detect fish and other water creatures by testing water samples for genetic material they leave behind. Scientists believe this tool could help better manage fish populations and protect both ocean health and human food security, since healthy fisheries provide food for billions of people worldwide. However, the technology still needs improvements before it can be widely used to make decisions about fishing limits and water safety.

2026 Frontiers in Marine Science
Article Tier 2

Protocol for Microplastic Monitoring in Fish

Researchers developed a standardized protocol for monitoring microplastics in fish in the Mekong River Basin, responding to evidence that the Mekong is among the ten rivers contributing over 90% of plastic debris to the global marine environment.

2024
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Exposure Across Trophic Levels: Effects on the Host Microbiota of Freshwater Organisms

Researchers investigated how microplastic exposure affects the gut bacteria communities of freshwater organisms including fish, invertebrates, and crustaceans. Microplastics—particularly when combined with pesticides—altered gut microbiota composition, which could impair digestion, immunity, and overall health of freshwater species.

2021 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Variations and Interseasonal Changes in the Gut Microbial Communities of Seven Wild Fish Species in a Natural Lake with Limited Water Exchange during the Closed Fishing Season

Researchers analyzed the gut bacteria of seven wild fish species in Chaohu Lake, China, across all four seasons and found significant differences in microbial communities between species and across seasons. Environmental factors like water temperature and dissolved oxygen levels were key drivers of these microbial shifts. The study provides a baseline understanding of how natural conditions shape the gut health of wild freshwater fish populations.

2024 Microorganisms 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Tracing the invisible microplastics in river water and fish organs and its implication of riverine ecosystem integrity

Researchers analyzed microplastics in river water and fish organ tissues from a river in South Asia, finding contamination throughout the aquatic food web. The study used the plastisphere framework to discuss how microbial communities colonizing microplastics may influence particle fate and biological effects.

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

The Characteristics of Intestinal Bacterial Community in Three Omnivorous Fishes and Their Interaction with Microbiota from Habitats

This study examined the gut bacterial communities of three omnivorous fish species in artificial fishery habitats, comparing them to bacteria in the surrounding water and sediment. Fish gut microbiomes partially reflected the environmental microbiota, suggesting habitat quality affects fish gut health. This is relevant to microplastics because microplastics alter both aquatic microbial communities and fish gut microbiomes.

2021 Microorganisms 15 citations
Article Tier 2

A fishy gut feeling – current knowledge on gut microbiota in teleosts

This review summarizes what scientists know about the community of bacteria living in fish guts and how diet, environmental conditions, and pollutants shape that community. Microplastics and other pollutants can disrupt the gut microbiome in fish, harming their immune function and overall health. Since fish are a major food source for humans, understanding these effects matters for food safety.

2025 Frontiers in Marine Science 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploiting the gut microbiota of aquatic animals as indicators of microplastic pollution using interpretable machine learning models

Researchers analyzed gut microbiota data from 17 aquatic species to determine whether changes in gut bacteria could serve as indicators of microplastic pollution. Using machine learning models, they found that microplastics significantly altered gut bacterial composition in both freshwater and saltwater animals in consistent, detectable patterns. The study suggests that monitoring gut microbiota in aquatic animals could become a practical tool for assessing microplastic contamination in waterways.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic loads within riverine fishes and macroinvertebrates are not predictable from ecological or morphological characteristics

Researchers measured microplastic loads in riverine fish and macroinvertebrates and found that particle counts were not reliably predicted by species ecology or morphology, suggesting that individual variation and local environmental factors play a larger role in microplastic ingestion than feeding guild or habitat alone.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Field validated biomarker (ValidBIO) based assessment of impacts of various pollutants in water

This review examines field-validated biomarker approaches for monitoring water pollution, showing that enzymatic activity changes in fish exposed to heavy metals, pesticides, microplastics, and persistent organic pollutants serve as sensitive and reliable indicators of aquatic contamination across diverse environments.

2022 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Ingested Microplastics Can Act as Microbial Vectors of Ichthyofauna

Nylon strips ingested and excreted by wild fish were found to harbor adherent microbiota including potential pathogens, demonstrating that microplastics can vector microorganisms through fish gut passage and into aquatic environments.

2024 Microbiology Research 8 citations