Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Life in plastic, it's not fantastic: Sublethal effects of polyethylene microplastics ingestion throughout amphibian metamorphosis

African clawed frogs exposed to polyethylene microplastics throughout metamorphosis showed sublethal effects including reduced body condition and altered development timing, raising concerns that microplastic pollution may threaten amphibian populations already facing global decline.

2023 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Developmental temperature modulates microplastics impact on amphibian life history without affecting ontogenetic microplastic transfer

Researchers studied how temperature affects the impact of microplastic pollution on Japanese tree frogs during their development from tadpole to frog. They found that microplastics caused hindlimb deformities during metamorphosis, but higher temperatures helped reduce mortality and deformity rates. Notably, plastic particles transferred from the aquatic tadpole stage to the terrestrial frog stage, demonstrating that microplastics can move between water and land ecosystems through animal life cycles.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Life on both environment in semi-aquatic frogs: Impact of aquatic microplastic (MP) from MP enrichment to growth, immune function and physiological stress

Researchers exposed juvenile black-spotted pond frogs to different concentrations of microplastics in water to study effects after metamorphosis. They found that microplastics accumulated primarily in the digestive tract and caused reduced growth, increased stress markers, and weakened immune function at higher concentrations. The study suggests that microplastic pollution in freshwater habitats could pose significant health risks to amphibians during vulnerable life stages.

2024 Chemosphere 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution and amphibian health: Complex physiological effects of different microplastic types on juvenile Glandirana rugosa

Researchers studied how polypropylene and polyethylene microplastics affect juvenile frogs and found significantly higher mortality rates in microplastic-exposed groups. The frogs showed elevated stress hormones, signs of oxidative damage, and elongated intestines, suggesting their bodies were trying to adapt to the particles. The study highlights that microplastics pose both physical and chemical risks to amphibians, which may contribute to population declines.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics impair amphibian survival, body condition and function

Tadpoles of the common midwife toad were exposed to polystyrene microspheres at varying concentrations in microcosms, with microplastics reducing feeding, impairing body condition, and showing dose-dependent ingestion of particles. The study provides rare evidence that microplastics harm amphibians, a group already facing global population declines.

2019 Chemosphere 121 citations
Article Tier 2

Differential effects of microplastic exposure on anuran tadpoles: A still underrated threat to amphibian conservation?

Researchers found that microplastic exposure affects amphibian tadpoles differently depending on the species, with Italian agile frog tadpoles showing reduced survival at high concentrations while green toad tadpoles were more resilient.

2022 Environmental Pollution 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Variation in microplastic characteristics among amphibian larvae: a comparative study across different species and the influence of human activity

Scientists examined microplastics inside amphibian larvae from 10 species and found plastic particles in all of them, with blue fibers being the most common type. Larger larvae tended to contain longer plastic fragments, and there was a relationship between human activity levels near habitats and the characteristics of the plastics found. This study shows that microplastic contamination has penetrated freshwater food webs, affecting animals during their most vulnerable developmental stages.

2024 Scientific Reports 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts and transport of microplastics: Population dynamics in frogs and the transfer between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems

Researchers studied how microplastics affect the development and survival of Japanese tree frogs and how frogs may transport plastics from water to land. They found that microplastic exposure did not significantly alter hatching or survival rates but did affect growth patterns. The study also demonstrates that as frogs metamorphose and move onto land, they carry ingested microplastics with them, creating a previously underappreciated pathway for plastic pollution to spread between ecosystems.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution of microplastics in tadpoles, adults, and habitats of three water frogs of Pelophylax spp.

Researchers examined microplastics in water frogs and their habitats across Turkey, finding that while tadpoles showed almost no microplastic ingestion, 44% of adult frogs had microplastics in their digestive tracts — mostly fibers from synthetic textiles. The findings highlight how microplastic contamination increases with life stage and proximity to human activity, threatening amphibian populations already under environmental stress.

2025 Environmental Sciences Europe 8 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Micro(nano)plastics as an emerging risk factor to the health of amphibian: A scientometric and systematic review

Only 12 studies have examined microplastic effects on amphibians, concentrated in Brazil and China and limited mostly to the Anura order; lab-tested concentrations were far from environmentally relevant levels, leaving significant knowledge gaps about mechanisms of toxicity in this vertebrate group.

2021 Chemosphere 62 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as an emerging threat to amphibians: Current status and future perspectives

This review summarizes existing research on microplastic contamination in amphibians like frogs and salamanders, finding that over 80% of studied species had accumulated microplastics. The particles persisted in organs, showed toxic and gene-damaging effects, and could transfer through the food chain. Since amphibians are indicators of environmental health, widespread microplastic accumulation in these animals signals broader ecosystem contamination that can ultimately affect human food and water sources.

2024 Heliyon 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Identifying the presence of microplastics in frogs from the largest delta of the world

Researchers found microplastics in 90% of frogs collected from nine species across the Bengal delta, with fibers being the most common type — indicating that amphibians in this major river system are heavily exposed to plastic pollution, which may contribute to their global population decline.

2023 Environmental Advances 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics increase susceptibility of amphibian larvae to the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

Researchers found that microplastic exposure increases the susceptibility of midwife toad larvae to the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, suggesting that plastic pollution may worsen the impacts of this devastating amphibian disease.

2021 Scientific Reports 42 citations
Article Tier 2

How much are microplastics harmful to the health of amphibians? A study with pristine polyethylene microplastics and Physalaemus cuvieri

Researchers exposed frog tadpoles (Physalaemus cuvieri) to polyethylene microplastics and found significant harmful effects including DNA damage, cell toxicity, and abnormal physical development. The microplastics accumulated in multiple tissues including the gills, gut, liver, muscle, and blood. The study provides some of the first evidence that microplastics can affect amphibian health, adding to concerns about their impact on freshwater wildlife.

2019 Journal of Hazardous Materials 239 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological perspectives of microplastic pollution in amphibians

This review summarizes research on how microplastics affect amphibians, which are considered important indicator species for freshwater pollution. Researchers found evidence that microplastics can impair amphibian growth, immune function, and gene expression, with effects varying by species and particle characteristics. The findings raise concerns about the vulnerability of amphibian populations already threatened by habitat loss and other environmental stressors.

2022 Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Part B 80 citations
Article Tier 2

Growth but Not Corticosterone, Oxidative Stress, or Telomere Length Is Negatively Affected by Microplastic Exposure in a Filter‐Feeding Amphibian

African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) larvae exposed to environmentally relevant microplastic concentrations showed reduced body growth but no significant changes in corticosterone, oxidative stress markers, or telomere length, suggesting microplastics selectively impact growth without broader physiological stress responses.

2025 Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A Ecological and Integrative Physiology
Article Tier 2

The effects of a microplastic mixture on wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) across multiple life stages in an outdoor mesocosm experiment

In a 96-day outdoor mesocosm experiment, researchers exposed wood frogs to a mixture of polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene terephthalate microplastics across multiple life stages. The study found that microplastic exposure increased larval growth and delayed development at higher concentrations, and that microplastics were detected in the liver and muscle tissue, suggesting frogs may act as biovectors transferring microplastics between aquatic and terrestrial environments.

2025 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Some Behavioural and Physiological Effects of Plastics (Polyethylene) on Fish

Researchers examined behavioral and physiological effects of polyethylene microplastics on fish, finding that plastic exposure disrupted endocrine function, altered behavior, and impaired normal development and reproduction.

2023 Tropical Aquatic and Soil Pollution 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Inhibition of antipredator behavior caused by methylmercury in newly metamorphosed Physalaemus ephippifer (Anura, Leptodactylidae)

This paper is not about microplastics. It studied how methylmercury, a toxic heavy metal, affects the behavior of metamorphosed frogs, causing dangerous hyperactivity that could make them more vulnerable to predators. The study has no connection to microplastic contamination or human health effects from plastic particles.

2024 Brazilian Journal of Animal and Environmental Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Uptake, accumulation and elimination of polystyrene microspheres in tadpoles of Xenopus tropicalis

Researchers exposed frog tadpoles to polystyrene microspheres and tracked uptake and elimination, finding that tadpoles readily ingested particles that accumulated in the gut and were gradually eliminated, with implications for amphibian exposure in plastic-contaminated ponds.

2016 Chemosphere 141 citations
Article Tier 2

Hepatotoxicity of pristine polyethylene microplastics in neotropical physalaemus cuvieri tadpoles (Fitzinger, 1826)

Physalaemus cuvieri tadpoles exposed to pristine polyethylene microplastics showed hepatotoxicity, including liver cell vacuolation and oxidative stress, demonstrating that microplastic ingestion causes measurable liver damage in amphibian larvae even without chemical additives.

2019 Journal of Hazardous Materials 101 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on growth and development of Rana latastei tadpoles: A mesocosm study

Mesocosm experiments exposing Rana latastei tadpoles to a mixture of PVC and HDPE microplastics found developmental delays and reduced survival, providing more ecologically realistic estimates of MP toxicity than laboratory-only studies.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Article Tier 2

Effects of Exposure to Different Types of Microplastics on the Growth and Development of Rana zhenhaiensis Tadpoles

Researchers exposed frog tadpoles to three types of microplastics -- polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene -- and found that polyethylene and polystyrene caused the most harm, significantly reducing metamorphosis rates, body weight, and body length. These two plastics also caused visible liver tissue damage and altered gut bacterial communities compared to controls. The study reveals that different types of microplastics can have very different levels of toxicity to developing amphibians.

2025 Toxics 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic ingestion by tadpoles of pond-breeding amphibians—first results from Central Europe (SW Poland)

This study found microplastics in the guts of tadpoles from five amphibian species collected from eight ponds in southwestern Poland, identifying polyethylene and polypropylene as the most common polymer types. The detection of microplastics in freshwater amphibian larvae in Central European ponds confirms that plastic pollution has reached small, inland water bodies and is affecting early developmental stages of amphibians.

2020 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 46 citations