Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Automated μFTIR Imaging Demonstrates Variability in Microplastic Ingestion by Aquatic Insects in a Remote Taiwanese Mountain Stream

Researchers used focal plane array micro-FTIR spectroscopy to characterize microplastic ingestion in aquatic insects from a high-altitude stream (~2,000 m) in a Taiwanese national park. Microplastic ingestion was detected in nearly all insect taxa examined, with polyethylene (65%) dominating and most particles smaller than 500 µm, demonstrating that MP contamination reaches even remote, low-pollution environments.

2025 Environments
Article Tier 2

Widespread Microplastic Pollution in Central Appalachian Streams: Implications for Freshwater Ecosystem Sustainability

Researchers evaluated microplastic pollution in freshwater streams across central Appalachia by examining the gut contents of 55 northern hogsucker fish from seven streams. They found an average of nearly 40 microplastic particles per fish, with the highest contamination in watersheds affected by mining, agriculture, and urban development. The study fills an important gap in understanding microplastic contamination in Appalachian freshwater systems and its potential consequences for ecosystem health.

2025 Sustainability 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Automated μFTIR Imaging Demonstrates Taxon-Specific and Selective Uptake of Microplastic by Freshwater Invertebrates

Researchers used automated micro-FTIR imaging to quantify microplastic ingestion by multiple freshwater invertebrate taxa from field-collected sediments, finding taxon-specific differences in ingestion rates and selectivity for particle type and size, suggesting that feeding behavior mediates microplastic exposure.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Ingestion of microplastics and textile cellulose particles by some meiofaunal taxa of an urban stream

Researchers evaluated ingestion of microplastics and textile cellulose particles by five meiofaunal taxa and multiple functional feeding guilds in an urban first-order stream in Florence, Italy, using fluorescence microscopy and µFTIR, finding evidence of particle uptake across scrapers, deposit-feeders, predators, and various locomotion groups.

2022 Chemosphere 19 citations
Article Tier 2

The effect of urban point source contamination on microplastic levels in water and organisms in a cold‐water stream

Microplastic concentrations in water, macroinvertebrates, and trout in a Wisconsin stream increased significantly downstream of stormwater outfalls and a wastewater plant. The study demonstrates that point sources of pollution drive measurable increases in microplastic contamination in freshwater food webs.

2019 Limnology and Oceanography Letters 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination across trophic levels in a lowland spring watercourse of Northwestern Italy: New insights and biomonitoring implications

Microplastic contamination was measured across trophic levels (algae, invertebrates, fish) in a lowland river ecosystem, finding that concentrations increased in organisms at higher levels of the food web. The trophic transfer data suggest that microplastics bioaccumulate through freshwater food chains.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 1 citations
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

Habitat Integrity and Microplastic Contamination in Amazonian Streams: Assessment of Water, Sediment, and Fish and Identification of Predominant Polymers

Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in Amazonian streams by sampling water, sediment, and fish, and characterised predominant polymer types, finding that contamination was widespread across all environmental compartments regardless of habitat integrity, suggesting that even well-preserved stream habitats are not protected from microplastic pollution.

2025 Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências
Article Tier 2

Investigating the presence of nanoplastics in freshwater chironomids from glacial habitats using Raman spectroscopy

Researchers used Raman spectroscopy to detect nanoplastics in larvae of two chironomid species from glacier-fed high-altitude streams in northern Italy after enzymatic and oxidative digestion. Nanoplastics were confirmed in multiple samples, demonstrating that plastic contamination reaches even remote alpine aquatic habitats with minimal direct human presence.

2025 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Distinct microplastic patterns in the sediment and biota of an urban stream

Researchers found distinct microplastic contamination patterns between sediments and aquatic biota in an urban stream, with sediments accumulating more particles while biota showed selective uptake based on particle size and shape, highlighting the complex dynamics of microplastic distribution in urban freshwater systems.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Uptake and Transfer of Polyamide Microplastics in a Freshwater Mesocosm Study

A freshwater mesocosm study tracked the trophic and ontogenetic transfer of polyamide microplastics through an aquatic food web under near-natural conditions, confirming that particles were transferred between prey and predators at multiple levels. The results demonstrate that microplastic transfer through food webs occurs in realistic community settings, not just isolated laboratory tests.

2022 Water 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics abundance in abiotic and biotic components along aquatic food chain in two freshwater ecosystems of Pakistan

Researchers quantified microplastic abundance across multiple trophic levels in two Pakistani freshwater ecosystems, finding evidence of bioaccumulation along the food chain from water and sediment through invertebrates to fish species.

2022 Chemosphere 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Laboratory assessment for determining microplastics in freshwater systems – characterization and identification along Somesul Mic River

Researchers applied Raman and FTIR spectroscopy alongside microscopy to characterize microplastics in water and sediment samples from the Somesul Mic River in Romania, identifying multiple polymer types and assessing which analytical methods worked best. Developing reliable, standardized laboratory methods for detecting microplastics in freshwater is essential for generating comparable data on environmental contamination levels.

2023 Preprints.org 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Stable Isotope Insights into Microplastic Contamination within Freshwater Food Webs

Stable isotope analysis was used to explore the relationship between trophic position and microplastic ingestion in freshwater macroinvertebrates and fish. The study found that trophic niche influenced microplastic accumulation patterns, with particles ranging from 700 micrometers to 5 mm quantified across taxa in the freshwater food web.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 82 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in freshwater sediments: Effects on benthic invertebrate communities and ecosystem functioning assessed in artificial streams

Researchers tested the effects of polyethylene microplastics on freshwater invertebrate communities in artificial streams using environmentally relevant concentrations. They found that microplastics significantly reduced the abundance of deposit-feeding and grazing organisms by 31-50%, with chironomids and mayflies showing the highest ingestion of plastic particles.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 74 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparing effects of microplastic exposure, FPOM resource quality, and consumer density on the response of a freshwater particle feeder and associated ecosystem processes

Researchers found that realistic microplastic concentrations had minimal direct effects on freshwater particle feeders compared to the much stronger influences of food resource quality and consumer density on growth, survival, and ecosystem processes in stream microcosms.

2023 Aquatic Sciences 7 citations