Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Legacy metal contamination is reflected in the fish gut microbiome in an urbanised estuary

Researchers found that legacy metal contamination in a heavily urbanized estuary in Australia is altering the gut microbiome of local fish, with metal-exposed fish harboring more potentially harmful and inflammation-linked bacteria. This shows that gut microbiome changes in fish can serve as a sensitive biological indicator of environmental pollution, even when the contamination occurred decades ago.

2022 Environmental Pollution 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Identifying Microbial Distribution Drivers of Archaeal Community in Sediments from a Black-Odorous Urban River—A Case Study of the Zhang River Basin

This study investigated how urbanization, eutrophication, and heavy metal pollution shape archaeal (ancient microbial) community composition in sediments of blackened, odorous urban rivers. Understanding microbial responses to these stressors helps track the health of aquatic ecosystems heavily impacted by pollution, including microplastics.

2021 Water 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Bacterial Diversity in Estuarine Sediments in Brazilian Coastal: a Focus in Bacterial Resistance

This paper is not about microplastics; it characterizes bacterial diversity and antibiotic resistance genes in estuarine sediments from Brazilian mangroves, examining how human effluents shape microbial communities.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Trace Metal Contamination Impacts Predicted Functions More Than Structure of Marine Prokaryotic Biofilm Communities in an Anthropized Coastal Area

Researchers examined how trace metal contamination in Toulon Bay affected marine prokaryotic biofilm communities colonizing polycarbonate plates at five sites along a contamination gradient, finding that metal pollution altered predicted microbial functions more than it changed overall community structure.

2021 Frontiers in Microbiology 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions Between Heavy Metals and Microplastics in Surface Marine Sediments, Chanthaburi River Mouth, Eastern Gulf of Thailand

Researchers assessed heavy metal and microplastic contamination in surface marine sediments from the mouth of Thailand's Chanthaburi River, finding interactions between metal pollutants and plastic particles that affect contaminant bioavailability and ecological risk in estuarine environments.

2025 Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences
Article Tier 2

An insight into the ecological risks and mitigation of heavy metal pollution in aquatic sediments and marine ecosystems

This review examines heavy metal pollution in aquatic sediments and marine ecosystems, covering contamination sources, ecological risks, and mitigation strategies. The study highlights the deterioration of aquatic zones due to rising pollution from urbanization and industrialization, and discusses how pollutants including microplastics interact with heavy metals to affect biogeochemical cycling and the food chain.

2026 Frontiers in Bacteriology
Article Tier 2

Toward an intensive understanding of sewer sediment prokaryotic community assembly and function

Researchers characterized prokaryotic communities in sewer sediments across multifunctional, commercial, and residential urban areas using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, finding significant compositional differences linked to land use and nutrient levels. Network analysis revealed the residential area harbored the most complex and stable microbial network, while stochastic processes dominated community assembly across all zones.

2023 Frontiers in Microbiology 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution and variation of metals in urban river sediments in response to microplastics presence, catchment characteristics and sediment properties

Researchers found that microplastic presence, alongside catchment urbanization and traffic activity, is associated with elevated heavy metal concentrations — particularly lead — in Brisbane River sediments, suggesting microplastics act as co-contaminants and vectors for metal pollution in urban waterways.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics on Microbial Community in Zhanjiang Mangrove Sediments

Researchers found that microplastics in mangrove sediments from Zhanjiang, China, altered the diversity and composition of microbial communities and may affect nitrogen cycling processes such as nitrification.

2022 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions Between Microplastics and Heavy Metals in Aquatic Environments: A Review

This review examines how microplastics interact with heavy metals in water, with a particular focus on the role that microorganisms play in driving these interactions. Bacteria that colonize microplastic surfaces can change how metals bind to and release from the particles, potentially increasing their toxicity. The combined threat of microplastics and heavy metals to aquatic ecosystems and human health through seafood consumption is a growing concern that needs more research.

2021 Frontiers in Microbiology 271 citations
Article Tier 2

Changes in the bacterial communities in chromium-contaminated soils

Researchers examined how chromium(VI) contamination alters bacterial community structure in soils, providing insights into the ecotoxicological effects of metal exposure on soil microorganisms and implications for assessing pollution risk.

2023 Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of microplastics on nutrients and metal concentrations in river sediments

Researchers investigated how microplastics influence nutrient and metal concentrations in river sediments, finding that microplastics alter the distribution of pollutants through their capacity to adsorb contaminants and support biofilm formation on their hydrophobic surfaces.

2020 Environmental Pollution 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Anthropogenic Litter in Urban Freshwater Ecosystems: Distribution and Microbial Interactions

Researchers quantified anthropogenic litter in urban rivers and streams and found that microplastics dominated by mass and particle count compared to macroplastic items. The study highlights urban freshwater systems as major conduits for plastic pollution moving toward marine environments and documents distinct microbial communities on plastic surfaces.

2014 PLoS ONE 287 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and heavy metals reshape mangrove rhizosphere microbiomes and compromise carbon fixation potential

Researchers investigated how microplastics and heavy metals together affect the microbial communities around mangrove tree roots. They found that combined pollution significantly reduced microbial diversity and shifted the balance of bacterial species, which in turn compromised the ability of these ecosystems to capture and store carbon. The study highlights that microplastic-metal co-contamination poses a compounding threat to mangrove ecosystems, which play an important role in coastal carbon storage.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Can Microplastic Pollution Change Important Aquatic Bacterial Communities?

Microplastics in coastal sediments can change the composition of important bacterial communities that cycle nutrients and maintain ecosystem health. Microplastic-associated bacteria differ significantly from natural sediment bacteria, with potential consequences for the chemical processes these communities perform.

2021 Frontiers for Young Minds
Article Tier 2

Microplastic in three urban estuaries, China

Researchers surveyed three urban estuaries in China and found microplastics throughout, with concentrations and types reflecting the combined influence of surrounding city density, stormwater runoff, and tidal mixing.

2015 Environmental Pollution 696 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Distribution at Different Sediment Depths in an Urban Estuary

Researchers sampled sediment cores from an urban estuary to map how microplastic particles are distributed at different depths over time. The study found that microplastic density varied with sediment depth, reflecting historical changes in plastic pollution and urban runoff.

2017 Frontiers in Marine Science 271 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

[Occurrence Characteristics of Microplastics and Metal Elements in the Surface Water of Huangpu River and Their Associations with Metal Resistance Genes].

This Chinese study analyzed microplastic concentrations and metal elements in surface water samples from the Huangpu River, also examining their associations with metal resistance genes in microbial communities. Microplastics in urban rivers can carry both heavy metals and antibiotic resistance genes, amplifying public health risks.

2023 PubMed 1 citations
Article Tier 2

[Occurrence Characteristics of Microplastics in Mangrove Sediments in the Jiulong River Estuary and the Association with Heavy Metals].

Researchers measured microplastic abundance and types in mangrove wetland sediments at the Jiulong River estuary in China, also examining associations with heavy metals. The findings show that mangrove sediments accumulate both microplastics and metals, raising concerns for the health of these coastal ecosystems.

2022 PubMed 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Insights into co-occurrence characteristics and interplay of microbial communities and environmental pollutants on biofilm-colonized microplastics in mangrove ecosystems

Researchers conducted an in situ study in mangrove ecosystems examining how microplastics accumulate biofilms over time, finding progressive development of microbial communities across seasons, polymer types, and exposure durations, with heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants co-occurring on microplastic surfaces.

2025 Water Research
Article Tier 2

Aging microplastic aggravates the pollution of heavy metals in rhizosphere biofilms

Researchers found that aging microplastics aggravate heavy metal pollution in rhizosphere biofilms, with weathered MPs accumulating more metals and altering microbial community structure in the root zone, potentially increasing contaminant transfer to plants.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 40 citations
Article Tier 2

The distribution and ecological effects of microplastics in an estuarine ecosystem

Researchers surveyed 22 intertidal sites and found that microplastic abundance, size, and diversity correlated with benthic microalgal communities and sediment biostabilization properties in an estuarine ecosystem.

2021 Environmental Pollution 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecological risk assessment of microplastics and heavy metals in Northern Vietnam's estuarine sediments: A case study of Ba Lat and Bach Dang

Researchers assessed microplastic abundance and ecological risk alongside ten heavy metals in estuarine sediments from the Ba Lat and Bach Dang estuaries of northern Vietnam's Red-Thai Binh River system, finding co-contamination patterns that pose compounded ecological risks to these biodiverse coastal ecosystems.

2025 VIETNAM JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES