Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Stream Microbial Community Structured by Trace Elements, Headwater Dispersal, and Large Reservoirs in Sub-Alpine and Urban Ecosystems

Researchers measured bacterioplankton community composition across rivers from sub-alpine to urban environments in three Utah watersheds over three seasons to quantify the relative roles of environmental conditions, passive dispersal, and human infrastructure (dams) in shaping stream microbial communities. They found that trace element chemistry and headwater dispersal were primary structuring forces, while large reservoirs imposed distinct downstream community signatures.

2020 Frontiers in Microbiology 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecological differentiation and assembly processes of abundant and rare bacterial subcommunities in karst groundwater

Researchers examined ecological differentiation between abundant and rare bacterial communities in karst groundwater in southwest China, revealing distinct assembly processes and environmental drivers that maintain ecosystem stability in these vulnerable aquifers.

2023 Frontiers in Microbiology 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of the Influence of Habitat Heterogeneity and Human Activities on the Distribution of Microbial Diversity in a High Elevation Drop River

This is a freshwater microbiology study characterizing bacterial diversity in the Huotong River across different land-use zones in China; it is not a microplastics research paper.

2023 Diversity 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Anthropogenic land uses shape denitrification-related microbial communities in freshwater river ecosystems

Researchers investigated how anthropogenic land uses (agricultural and urbanized) versus natural land uses shape denitrification-related microbial communities in the Weihe and Hanjiang Rivers in China's Qinling Mountains using deep 16S rRNA gene sequencing of water and sediment samples. Results revealed that land-use type significantly alters the composition and function of nitrogen-cycling microbial communities in freshwater river ecosystems.

2022
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic resistome in groundwater and its association with mountain springs and river

Researchers characterized antibiotic resistance genes in peri-urban groundwater alongside mountain spring and river sources, finding 261 distinct resistance genes in groundwater and identifying natural water sources as contributors to groundwater antibiotic resistome profiles.

2023 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Bacterial Community Structure and Its Influencing Factors in Surface Sediments of the Nyang River in the Dry Season, China

Researchers analyzed bacterial community diversity in surface sediments of the Nyang River in Tibet using high-throughput sequencing, finding that climate warming and human activities along this plateau river have measurably shaped microbial composition and structure.

2023 Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution in groundwater: Case study - Slovenia

Researchers investigated microplastic pollution in Slovenian groundwater, which supplies drinking water to 98% of the population, characterizing MP occurrence, transport, and risk across multiple aquifer systems affected by urban, industrial, and agricultural activities.

2024
Article Tier 2

Bacterial signatures of anthropogenic pressures in a high-mountain river: a One Health study using full-length 16S profiling

Scientists studied bacteria in a Colombian mountain river and found that human activities like sewage discharge and industrial cooling dramatically changed the types of bacteria living in the water. Areas with more pollution had more harmful bacteria, including some linked to disease and antibiotic resistance. This research helps us understand how pollution affects water quality and could help communities better monitor and protect their water sources from health risks.

2026
Article Tier 2

Linear responses of soil microbiomes, metagenomic and metabolomic functioning across ecosystems along water gradients in the Altai region, northwestern China

Researchers analyzed soil microbial communities, their genetic functions, and metabolic profiles across four ecosystems along a water gradient in the Altai region of China. Microbial diversity and carbon and nitrogen cycling functions increased linearly with soil moisture, demonstrating how hydrology shapes ecosystem-level microbial processes.

2023 Research Square (Research Square) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate of Microplastics in Deep Gravel Riverbeds: Evidence for Direct Transfer from River Water to Groundwater

Researchers tracked microplastic particles vertically through gravel riverbeds using depth-profile sampling, finding that MPs move directly from river water into subsurface gravel sediments and onward toward groundwater, documenting a pathway for plastic particles to enter drinking water aquifers.

2025 Microplastics 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on the characteristics of water chemistry evolution in typical alpine karst basins

Researchers analyzed water chemistry evolution in alpine karst groundwater systems, tracing how geological and hydrological processes shape ion concentrations and water quality in these vulnerable freshwater sources.

2025
Article Tier 2

Deciphering geospatial variations in water quality of a perennial river for human consumption and agricultural application

Researchers analyzed geospatial variation in water quality along a perennial river to assess human health risks from drinking water exposure, identifying hotspots of contamination exceeding safety thresholds. The study provides a risk-based framework for prioritizing water treatment interventions.

2024 Water Practice & Technology
Article Tier 2

Global biogeography of the smallest plankton across ocean depths

Researchers analysed 451 ocean samples spanning epipelagic, mesopelagic, and bathypelagic zones to determine how ecological processes structure picoplankton communities across depths, finding that environmental selection decreases with depth while dispersal limitation increases, driven by water mass boundaries and bottom topography that restrict microbial mixing.

2023 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in Slovenia's groundwater.

Researchers investigated microplastic pollution in Slovenia's groundwater, examining how microplastics from urban, agricultural, and industrial activities enter and distribute through subsurface water systems in a country where groundwater supplies approximately 98% of drinking water.

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

Microplastics in groundwater: a global analysis

Researchers conducted a global groundwater sampling study to characterize microplastic contamination in aquifer systems worldwide, investigating transport mechanisms and fate of particles in anoxic subsurface environments where knowledge gaps remain despite extensive research on surface water systems.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
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

Linking ecological niches to bacterial community structure and assembly in polluted urban aquatic ecosystems

Researchers examined how ecological niches shape bacterial community structure and assembly in polluted urban water ecosystems. The study found that the specific environmental conditions within different niches play a key role in determining how microbial communities respond to water pollution. These findings have implications for understanding microbial ecology and maintaining aquatic ecosystem health.

2023 Frontiers in Microbiology 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of the groundwater recharge processes of a shallow and deep aquifer system (Maggiore Valley, Northwest Italy): a hydrogeochemical and isotopic approach

Researchers analyzed water chemistry and isotopes across shallow and deep groundwater systems in northwest Italy, tracing how water from distant mountain recharge zones mixes before reaching a heavily used drinking water well field. The study clarifies potential pathways for pollutants to reach drinking water supplies, providing critical information for protecting this major regional water resource.

2023 Hydrogeology Journal 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Cascade dams altered taxonomic and functional composition of bacterioplankton community at the regional scale

Researchers used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to investigate how cascade dams alter bacterioplankton community taxonomy and function at the regional scale in the Shaying River Basin, finding that dam-influenced zones created distinct environments with different community structures and interaction strengths compared to natural river sections.

2023 Frontiers in Microbiology 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Composition and distribution of hyporheic and macrobenthic fauna in a Neotropical mountain river, Colombia

This Colombian study characterized the invertebrate communities living in both the surface and underground water zones of a tropical mountain stream. While not directly about microplastics, understanding baseline biodiversity in freshwater systems is important for detecting ecological harm from plastic contamination.

2023 Limnetica 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Abiotic and Biotic Effects on Microbial Diversity of Small Water Bodies in and around Towns

Metagenomic analysis of microbial communities in nine small urban water bodies across four seasons found that water quality had a greater influence on microbial community structure than habitat type, with alien species also contributing significantly to microbial diversity shifts.

2023 Sustainability 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics transport during Managed Aquifer Recharge – A potential cause of groundwater contamination?

Researchers measured microplastics at multiple stages of a major managed aquifer recharge system in Switzerland and found that plastic particles from the Rhine River can penetrate through the treatment process into pumped groundwater, raising concerns about drinking water quality.

2023
Article Tier 2

Phylogenetic distance–decay patterns are not explained by local community assembly processes in freshwater lake microbial communities

This paper is not about microplastics; it studies how environmental factors and spatial distance drive microbial community composition in freshwater lake water and sediment.

2023 Environmental Microbiology 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Urbanization promotes specific bacteria in freshwater microbiomes including potential pathogens

Researchers used full-length 16S rRNA sequencing to compare freshwater microbial communities across urban and rural lakes in Germany, finding that urbanization consistently promoted specific bacterial genera including potential pathogens such as Escherichia/Shigella and Rickettsia, driven by warming, eutrophication, and wastewater inputs.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 45 citations