Papers

61,005 results
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Meta Analysis Tier 1

Comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of microplastic prevalence and abundance in freshwater fish species: the effect of fish species habitat, feeding behavior, and Fulton’s condition factor

A meta-analysis of freshwater fish across 42 studies found an average of 2.35 microplastic items per individual, with 80% of research focused on the gastrointestinal tract and 58% on river environments. Contrary to expectations, microplastic ingestion correlated with fish body physiology (size and weight) rather than feeding behavior or habitat, suggesting physical characteristics determine uptake more than ecological niche.

2024 Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Contamination in Freshwater Fish – a Review

Researchers reviewed what is known about microplastic contamination in freshwater fish and found that fish ingest particles through their gut, gills, and skin, with the particles then distributing throughout body tissues and potentially reaching humans through seafood consumption — though inconsistent sampling methods make it difficult to compare findings across studies.

2025 Agrobiological Records 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Distribution Patterns in Fish and Implications for Safe Consumption

Researchers examined over 1,000 fish from 37 species and found microplastics in the gills and guts of about 36-40% of fish, but none in muscle tissue. Fish from shallower waters and smaller fish had more microplastics. The study recommends that people eat only the muscle portion of fish and choose larger fish from deeper waters to reduce their microplastic intake, estimating that global per capita exposure from fish is about 56,000 particles per year.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 8 citations
Article Tier 2

How Do Microplastics Distribute Through Freshwater Ecosystems? Which Biota, Feeding Groups, and Trophic Levels Are Most at Risk?

This review examines how microplastics distribute through freshwater ecosystems — across water columns, sediments, biota, and trophic levels — identifying filter feeders, detritivores, and higher trophic level organisms as particularly vulnerable to microplastic accumulation.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplasts in Freshwater Fish – Problems and Challenges

This review examines microplastic contamination of freshwater fish, covering ingestion evidence from over 150 species, the mechanisms of accumulation in gastrointestinal and other tissues, potential health impacts, and challenges in standardizing quantification methodologies.

2025 Journal Scientific and Applied Research
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Freshwater Systems: A Review on Its Accumulation and Effects on Fishes

This review covers the accumulation and effects of microplastics in freshwater fish, including how fish ingest them through feeding and the physical and chemical harm they can cause. Since many freshwater fish species are consumed by humans, the findings are relevant to food safety.

2018 Preprints.org 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Toward an Improved Understanding of the Ingestion and Trophic Transfer of Microplastic Particles: Critical Review and Implications for Future Research

A comprehensive review of over 800 species found that while microplastics are routinely found in the digestive tracts of aquatic organisms, they do not appear to bioaccumulate or biomagnify through food webs, with over 99% of observations locating particles in the gastrointestinal tract rather than tissues. The review calls for more standardized sampling and reporting to enable better temporal and spatial trend analysis.

2020 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 179 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Fish: A Comprehensive Review

This review synthesizes research on microplastics in fish, covering contamination sources, detection methods, and impacts on wild and farmed populations globally — and examining how plastic particles in fish tissues may transfer to humans through seafood consumption.

2025 Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries
Article Tier 2

MicroplasticDistribution Patterns in Fish and Implicationsfor Safe Consumption

This study examined microplastic distribution across 1,075 fish from 37 species and identified that MP concentration was highest in the digestive tract and gills, providing practical guidance on which fish parts consumers should avoid or remove to reduce human MP exposure through seafood consumption.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Assessing the Effects of Microplastics on Freshwater Fish

This review examines the growing body of research on how microplastics affect freshwater fish, documenting evidence of ingestion, tissue damage, immune system impairment, and gastrointestinal obstruction across multiple species. Researchers highlight that microplastics from personal care products and degraded plastic goods are accumulating in freshwater ecosystems at concerning rates. The study warns that combined with existing threats like overfishing and habitat loss, microplastic pollution could accelerate population declines in vulnerable fish species.

2024 International Journal of Nature and Life Sciences 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in freshwater fishes: Occurrence, impacts and future perspectives

This review synthesizes current knowledge about microplastic contamination in freshwater fish, which serve as important indicators of plastic pollution in rivers and lakes. Researchers found that microplastic ingestion patterns in fish are related to body size, feeding habits, and local urbanization levels, with controlled studies showing various effects on fish physiology and behavior. While fish can typically expel most microplastics quickly, certain particle shapes and sizes may remain in the body or cross into other organs through the intestinal wall.

2021 Fish and Fisheries 149 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Different Tissues of Five Common Fishes from Yuehai Lake: Accumulation, Characterization, and Contamination Assessment

Researchers examined microplastic contamination in the gills and digestive tracts of five fish species from a Chinese lake, finding that fish eating a wider variety of foods accumulated more particles. Different plastic polymer types dominated in different tissues, confirming that microplastics move through freshwater food webs and reach fish that humans consume.

2025 Malaysian Journal of Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and Impacts of Microplastics in Freshwater Fish

This review summarizes research on microplastic occurrence in freshwater fish across multiple regions, examining ingestion rates, polymer types, and potential health effects. The authors highlight that freshwater fish are widely exposed to microplastics and call for more standardized monitoring to assess risks to fish and to people who eat them.

2017 Journal of Aquaculture & Marine Biology 63 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro(nano)plastics in the fish gastrointestinal tract: A mini review and relevance to One Health perspective

Researchers reviewed how microplastics and nanoplastics accumulate in fish digestive systems and enter the broader food web, highlighting that the fish gut acts as a critical pathway for these particles — and the chemicals stuck to them — to travel from the environment into the human food supply.

2025 Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing and Managing Microplastic Risks in Freshwater Fisheries: Exposure Pathways and Toxicological Evidence

This review assessed microplastic exposure pathways and toxicological risks for freshwater fish in rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and aquaculture ponds, covering ingestion, trophic transfer, and chemical co-contaminant effects. The authors concluded that freshwater fish face substantial microplastic risk and outlined monitoring and risk management strategies for fisheries managers.

2025 Asian Journal of Research in Zoology
Systematic Review Tier 1

Global meta‐analysis reveals diverse effects of microplastics on freshwater and marine fishes

This systematic review and meta-analysis examines the effects of microplastics on fish in both freshwater and ocean environments. The findings show that microplastics reduce feeding, impair digestion, slow growth, and weaken immune function in fish, which is concerning because contaminated fish are a major food source for people worldwide.

2022 Fish and Fisheries 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics in freshwater fishes health and the implications for human health

This review examines how microplastics affect the health of freshwater fish, which are a major protein source for billions of people. Fish ingest microplastics that accumulate in their guts, gills, and tissues, leading to inflammation, oxidative stress, and disrupted growth. Since microplastics in fish tissue can transfer to humans through the food chain, this is relevant to both ecosystem and human health.

2023 Brazilian Journal of Biology 39 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Systematic Review of Microplastic Characterization Methods and Associated Toxicological Outcomes in Fish

This systematic review evaluated methods used to identify microplastics and their health effects in fish. The findings showed that microplastic exposure causes liver and gill damage, behavioral changes, and oxidative stress in fish, which matters for human health because contaminated fish is a common part of our diet.

2025 Environmental Research and Planetary Health
Systematic Review Tier 1

Geographical and ecological factors affect microplastic body burden in marine fish at global scale

This systematic review analyzed microplastic levels found in marine fish worldwide and identified key factors driving contamination. Fish from areas with heavy human activity contained more microplastics, and since many of these species are eaten by people, this contamination represents a direct route of human exposure through seafood.

2024 Environmental Pollution 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Fish size influences microplastic occurrence in target organs

Researchers tested whether fish body size predicts microplastic burden in organs beyond the gut, finding that larger fish accumulate more plastic in systemic tissues. The findings suggest that organ-level microplastic analysis provides a more complete picture of contamination than gut content surveys alone.

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

Worldwide contamination of fish with microplastics: A brief global overview

A literature review from March 2019 to March 2020 synthesized worldwide data on microplastic contamination in fish, finding that a median of 60% of fish from 198 species across 24 countries contained microplastics in their organs. Carnivorous species ingested more microplastics than herbivores, consistent with trophic transfer and bioaccumulation through food webs.

2020 Marine Pollution Bulletin 144 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in the gastrointestinal tract of fishes: A global systematic review and meta-analysis and meta-regression

Fish globally averaged 2.76 microplastic particles per gastrointestinal tract, with fish from enclosed water bodies (lakes, estuaries) containing 2-4x more than those from open oceans, and fish from low-income economies harboring 5.5x more microplastics than those from high-income economies.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 86 citations
Article Tier 2

Fish size influences microplastic occurrence in target organs

Researchers examined whether fish body size affects microplastic occurrence in target organs, moving beyond gut content analysis to assess systemic tissue contamination. Larger fish contained more microplastics in their organs than smaller fish, suggesting size-dependent differences in cumulative lifetime exposure.

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

Evidence of Microplastic Translocation in Wild-Caught Fish and Implications for Microplastic Accumulation Dynamics in Food Webs

Researchers found microplastics not just in the stomachs but also in the muscle tissue and livers of wild-caught fish from a Canadian lake, confirming that microplastics can move from the gut into other body tissues. Interestingly, smaller fish had more translocated particles per gram of body weight than larger fish, and there was no clear pattern of microplastics building up at higher levels of the food chain. The study highlights that people eating fish fillets may be consuming microplastics that have moved beyond the gut into edible tissue.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 250 citations