Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Aquatic ecosystem indices, linking ecosystem health to human health risks

Researchers reviewed indicators used to assess aquatic ecosystem health and found that most existing tools don't adequately capture the risks that degraded water ecosystems pose to human health and well-being. They propose a new set of combined indicators — covering chemical contaminants, pathogens, and biological markers — to better link ecosystem health monitoring to human health outcomes.

2025 Biodiversity and Conservation 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Standardized Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Biological Index Method for Ecosystem Health Evaluation in Large Waters of Aquaculture Type

Researchers developed a standardized fuzzy comprehensive evaluation biological index method for assessing ecosystem health in large aquaculture-type water bodies, providing a more nuanced tool for monitoring river and lake ecosystem conditions under increasing human environmental pressure.

2022 Academic Journal of Environmental Biology
Article Tier 2

Application of pressure–state–response approach for developing criteria and indicators of ecological health assessment of wetlands: a multi-temporal study in Ichhamati floodplains, India

Researchers developed and tested a comprehensive 105-indicator framework for assessing the ecological health of tropical floodplain wetlands in eastern India, applying it across seven sites over multiple years. The results showed that agriculture-dominated wetlands were the most degraded, while fishing-dominated wetlands fared better, offering a replicable tool for wetland management in similar regions.

2023 Ecological Processes 19 citations
Review Tier 2

Bioindicators for Forest Area Condition: A Systematic Literature Review

This systematic literature review examined flora and fauna as bioindicators for assessing forest health, identifying key species and metrics used across global studies to monitor ecosystem condition and environmental stress.

2024 Jurnal Penelitian dan Pengkajian Ilmu Pendidikan e-Saintika
Article Tier 2

Development of Microbial Indicators in Ecological Systems

This review examines the use of microorganisms as bioindicators of ecological health across forest, aquatic, desert, plateau, and artificial ecosystems, highlighting their high environmental sensitivity and underutilized potential compared to animal and plant indicators.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 30 citations
Article Tier 2

River ecosystem processes: A synthesis of approaches, criteria of use and sensitivity to environmental stressors

This synthesis reviewed approaches to studying river ecosystem processes, evaluating criteria for selecting sensitive indicators and methods for detecting ecological change driven by pollution and land-use pressures.

2017 The Science of The Total Environment 156 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing land-use impacts on a 5th-order tropical river using multiple environmental indicators

Researchers combined multiple environmental indicators to assess the health of a tropical river system in Brazil affected by land-use change from agriculture and urbanization. Rivers in degraded landscapes also carry higher microplastic loads, and multi-indicator approaches provide a more complete picture of ecosystem health.

2021 Caderno de Geografia 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrated Ecological Risk Assessment of the Agricultural Area under a High Anthropopressure Based on Chemical, Ecotoxicological and Ecological Indicators

Researchers conducted an integrated ecological risk assessment of agricultural land using chemical, ecotoxicological, and ecological indicators, finding that while chemical analysis overestimated risk, the combined approach revealed most of the area had acceptable risk levels despite over a century of anthropogenic pressure.

2023 Agriculture 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Improving the assessment of ecosystem and wildlife health: microbiome as an early indicator

Researchers reviewed evidence that the microbiome — the community of microorganisms living in environments and within animals — can serve as an early warning system for ecosystem disturbance, rapidly reflecting the impact of human activities before other signs of harm are visible.

2023 Current Opinion in Biotechnology 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Functional measures as potential indicators of down-the-drain chemical stress in freshwater ecological risk assessment

This review evaluated functional ecosystem measures — such as leaf litter decomposition and organic matter processing — as potential indicators of chemical pollution stress in freshwater systems. Using functional rather than solely species-based metrics could improve detection of how microplastics and other contaminants impair ecosystem processes.

2021 Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Biomonitoring for Watershed Protection from a Multiscale Land-Use Perspective

This review of freshwater biomonitoring studies examined how different land use types affect aquatic organisms across temporal and spatial scales, finding that land use intensity strongly influences bioindicator responses and recommending that biomonitoring programs consider multiple scales and eDNA approaches.

2023 Diversity 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of biomarker-based ecotoxic effects in combating microplastic pollution - A review

This review examined the use of biomarker-based ecotoxicological approaches to assess the impacts of microplastic pollution across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial organisms. The authors argue that standardized biomarker frameworks are needed to quantify ecological harm from microplastics more effectively.

2023 Global NEST Journal 3 citations
Article Tier 2

A Synthesis of Marine Monitoring Methods With the Potential to Enhance the Status Assessment of the Baltic Sea

This review synthesized monitoring methods applicable to the Baltic Sea to improve assessment of ecosystem health, covering chemical, biological, and emerging pollutant indicators including microplastics. Better and more coordinated monitoring is essential for tracking the effectiveness of conservation measures across this heavily polluted regional sea.

2020 Frontiers in Marine Science 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Effectiveness assessment of using water environmental microHI to predict the health status of wild fish

Researchers tested whether measuring the health of microbial communities in river water could predict the health status of wild fish living there. The study found that the environmental microbiota health index was effective for bottom-dwelling fish but less reliable for fish living in the open water, suggesting this non-invasive monitoring approach works best for certain types of aquatic species.

2024 Frontiers in Microbiology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Monitoring of Rivers and Streams Conditions Using Biological Indices with Emphasis on Algae: A Comprehensive Descriptive Review toward River Management

This comprehensive review examines algal communities as biological indicators of river and stream health, covering how algal indices respond to changes in nutrient levels, salinity, flow regime, and other environmental variables relevant to river management and ecological assessment.

2023 IntechOpen eBooks 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing the Ecological Status of European Rivers and Lakes Using Benthic Invertebrate Communities: A Practical Catalogue of Metrics and Methods

A comprehensive catalog of benthic invertebrate metrics used across 26 EU national assessment systems for rivers and 21 for lakes was compiled, identifying the range of biological indices and methodological approaches currently used to evaluate ecological status under the Water Framework Directive.

2021 Water 47 citations
Article Tier 2

The Baltic Health Index (BHI): Assessing the social–ecological status of the Baltic Sea

Researchers introduced the Baltic Health Index (BHI) as a transparent, collaborative tool that integrates ecological and human-dimension metrics to assess the social-ecological health of the Baltic Sea, complementing existing ecological status frameworks.

2021 People and Nature 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Promising indicators for monitoring microplastic pollution

This review evaluated promising biological and ecological indicators for monitoring microplastic pollution, arguing that standardized indicator species and metrics are needed to better track microplastic abundance, distribution, and accumulation in ecosystems.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of a Classification Model for Physiological Parameters in Relation to Ecological Aspects Based on Cohort Data

Researchers developed a classification model linking physiological parameters to ecological and environmental factors using cohort data, aiming to understand how environmental variables, socioeconomic conditions, and demographic parameters influence human health outcomes in the context of ecosystem modelling.

2022 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Development of a holistic approach for river health assessment: from bioindicators to the ecosystem

Researchers combined chemical, ecological, and fish biomarker data in a citizen-science assessment of the Elsa River in Italy, finding that water quality and ecological health declined progressively downstream, with microplastic ingestion by chub fish peaking near urbanized zones alongside genotoxic effects linked to mercury and organic pollutants.

2025 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

A Comprehensive Method for Water Environment Assessment considering Trends of Water Quality

Researchers developed a comprehensive water quality assessment method that accounts for both current pollution levels and trends over time, applying it to rivers feeding a major Chinese reservoir. Water quality assessment frameworks are increasingly being adapted to include microplastic contamination as a standard monitoring parameter.

2021 Advances in Civil Engineering 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in ecological system: Their prevalence, health effects, and remediation

This review provides an overview of microplastic prevalence across different ecosystems and their potential effects on environmental and human health. The researchers discuss how microplastics enter water, soil, and food chains, and examine the various biological effects documented in organisms. They also review current remediation strategies being developed to address microplastic contamination.

2024 Environmental Nanotechnology Monitoring & Management 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Index models for ecological and health risks assessment of environmental micro-and nano-sized plastics

This review presented and evaluated index models used to assess ecological and health risks from environmental micro- and nanoplastics, providing standardized methods for describing contamination levels and potential impacts on ecosystems and human health.

2022 AIMS environmental science 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Multiple approach for assessing lagoon environmental status based on water bodies quality indices and microplastics accumulation

Researchers assessed lagoon environmental status using water quality indices and microplastic accumulation measurements, finding that combining these multiple approaches provides a more comprehensive evaluation of lagoon ecosystem health than single metrics alone.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 14 citations