Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Characteristics of Microplastic in Selected Marine Sponges from Pasir Putih Situbondo, East Java, Indonesia

Microplastics were characterized in marine sponges collected from a specific ocean region, finding plastic particles of diverse polymer types embedded in sponge tissue. Marine sponges, as filter feeders, accumulate microplastics from surrounding water and may serve as useful bioindicators of ocean plastic contamination.

2025 HAYATI Journal of Biosciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Sponges as bioindicators for microparticulate pollutants?

This study investigated whether sponges can serve as bioindicators of microparticle pollution in coral reef environments, finding that sponges incorporate foreign particles including microplastics from the surrounding water. Sponges could be useful sentinel organisms for monitoring microplastic contamination in reef ecosystems given their extensive filter feeding.

2020 Environmental Pollution 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Measuring the Effects of Microplastics on Sponges

Researchers investigated how microplastics affect marine sponges, which are important filter feeders in coastal ecosystems, noting that very little research had examined sponge-microplastic interactions. The study aimed to fill a knowledge gap about microplastic impacts on a key group of organisms that filter large volumes of seawater.

2016 Figshare 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Measuring the Effects of Microplastics on Sponges

Researchers investigated how microplastics affect marine sponges, which are important filter feeders in coastal ecosystems, noting that very little research had examined sponge-microplastic interactions. The study aimed to fill a knowledge gap about microplastic impacts on a key group of benthic organisms that filter large volumes of seawater.

2016 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Sponges as libraries: Increase in microplastics in Cinachyrella alloclada after 36 years

Researchers compared microplastic concentrations in the tropical sponge Cinachyrella alloclada using museum specimens from 1981 versus field-collected specimens from 2017, finding a tenfold increase from 0.13 to 1.37 microplastics per gram of tissue and an increase in prevalence from 10% to 80% of individuals, with Raman spectroscopy identifying polypropylene fibers as the dominant polymer type.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate of microplastic captured in the marine demosponge Halichondria panicea

Researchers tracked the fate of 2 and 10 micrometer plastic beads in the marine sponge Halichondria panicea, comparing their retention with that of edible bacteria and algal cells, finding that sponges retained plastic particles differently from food particles. The study advances understanding of sponges as microplastic monitoring organisms by revealing how plastic particles are processed within sponge tissues.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 19 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Interaction Mechanisms Between Marine Sponges (Porifera) and Microplastics: A Bioecological Overview

This systematic review summarizes how marine sponges, which are natural filter feeders, interact with microplastic particles in the ocean. The research shows that sponges unintentionally take in microplastics along with their food, which can cause cellular stress and may affect their ability to filter ocean water, with broader consequences for marine ecosystem health.

2025 BIO Web of Conferences 1 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Interaction Mechanisms Between Marine Sponges (Porifera) and Microplastics: A Bioecological Overview

This systematic review looks at how marine sponges — natural filter feeders — accidentally take in microplastics along with their food. The research shows sponges can accumulate significant amounts of tiny plastic particles, which may affect their health and the broader reef ecosystem. Since sponges play an important role in ocean nutrient cycling, their contamination with microplastics signals wider pollution concerns for marine food webs.

2025 Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics (≤ 10 μm) bioaccumulation in marine sponges along the Moroccan Mediterranean coast: Insights into species-specific distribution and potential bioindication

Researchers found that marine sponges along the Moroccan Mediterranean coast bioaccumulate small microplastics (10 micrometers or less), with species-specific differences in accumulation patterns, suggesting certain sponge species could serve as bioindicators for microplastic pollution monitoring.

2023 Environmental Research 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Could spatial variation be more important than species identity in determining the presence of microplastics in temperate sponges?

A study of microplastic contamination in temperate sponges found that the sampling location was a stronger predictor of microplastic presence than the sponge species, suggesting that local environmental conditions drive exposure more than species biology.

2023 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Sponges as Sentinels of Coastal Water Quality and Microplastic Contamination in Mallorca, Western Mediterranean

Researchers used marine sponges as bioindicators to assess coastal water quality and microplastic contamination in the Mediterranean Sea. Sponge tissues accumulated MPs reflecting local pollution levels, and the authors proposed standardized protocols for using sponges as long-term sentinel organisms for plastic monitoring.

2025
Article Tier 2

Preliminary Report of Microplastic (MPs) Presence on East Java Freshwater Sponges at Brantas Porong River

Freshwater sponges (Oncosclera asiatica) from the Brantas Porong River in East Java were examined for microplastic contamination, representing a preliminary study of microplastics in a rare and understudied freshwater organism. As filter feeders, the sponges accumulated microplastics from the surrounding water, with physical characteristics of the particles characterized.

2024 BIO Web of Conferences 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Could spatial variation be more important than species identity in determining the presence of microplastics in temperate sponges?

Researchers found microplastics present in every sponge sample across six species and three sites in Wellington Harbour, New Zealand, and determined that spatial location explained 40–53% of the variation in microplastic abundance compared to only 4–24% explained by species identity, highlighting site-level pollution as the dominant driver.

2023 New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Seagrass sponge (Agelas conifera: Demospongia) potential of microplastic accumulation from Pramuka Island, Seribu Islands

Marine sponges collected from a tourist island near Jakarta accumulated 167-300 microplastic particles per gram of tissue, considerably more than were found in surrounding water or sediment. The findings show sponges can concentrate microplastics from their environment, making them useful biological indicators of pollution.

2023 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of microplastics in the waters of the Santos Basin and the Ilha Grande Bay, and in marine sponges of the species Dragmacidon reticulatum (Ridley & Dendy, 1886)

This study characterized microplastics in coastal waters of two Brazilian bays and in the marine sponge Dragmacidon reticulatum. Microplastics were found in both water samples and sponge tissue, demonstrating that filter-feeding invertebrates accumulate plastic particles from their surroundings.

2023 LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
Article Tier 2

Contamination of microplastics in tropical coral reef ecosystems of Sri Lanka

Researchers investigated microplastic contamination across ten coral reef ecosystems in Sri Lanka, finding microplastics in corals, water, and sediments with fibers and fragments being the dominant types, representing a previously unquantified threat to tropical reef systems.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in marine sponges (Porifera) along a highly urbanized estuarine gradient in Santos, Brazil

Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in marine sponges along an urbanization gradient in the Santos Estuary, Brazil. They found a 14-fold difference in microplastic concentrations between the most and least contaminated sites, with contamination patterns following the same gradient seen in molluscs from the same area. The findings suggest that marine sponges could serve as useful sentinel organisms for monitoring microplastic pollution in coastal environments.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic distribution in urban vs pristine mangroves: Using marine sponges as bioindicators of environmental pollution

Researchers collected marine sponges from urban and pristine mangrove environments and measured microplastic content, finding significantly higher MP loads in urban sponges and demonstrating that sessile benthic sponges can serve as effective bioindicators of coastal microplastic pollution.

2021 Environmental Pollution 106 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of microplastic pollution in corals, seawater, and marine sediments in the Gulf of Thailand

Researchers assessed microplastic occurrence, abundance, and characteristics in coral, seawater, and sediment samples from two reef sites in the Gulf of Thailand, detecting microplastics in all coral samples at concentrations ranging from 0.24 to 2.60 particles per gram and finding spatial variability across reef species and sites.

2025 Frontiers in Marine Science
Article Tier 2

Presence of microplastics in six bivalve species (Mollusca, Bivalvia) commercially exploited at the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Central America

Researchers found microplastics in all six commercially exploited bivalve species sampled from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, with prevalence ranging from 74% to 100% across species, raising concerns about human exposure through seafood consumption in Central American coastal communities.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics reduce filtration and respiration rates in the Mediterranean sponge Petrosia ficiformis

Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics significantly reduced filtration and respiration rates in the Mediterranean sponge Petrosia ficiformis, suggesting that microplastic pollution may impair the ecological functions of these important filter-feeders.

2022 Environmental Research 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic filtering and its physiological effects on the Mediterranean bath sponge Spongia officinalis (Porifera, Demospongiae)

Researchers tested how the Mediterranean bath sponge filters and responds to microplastic particles in seawater. They found that these sponges are highly efficient at capturing microplastics in the 1-5 micrometer size range but showed signs of physiological stress including changes in respiration and cellular damage. The findings suggest that filter-feeding marine organisms like sponges are both exposed to and affected by microplastic contamination.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution on sandy beaches of Puerto Rico

Researchers sampled sand from six northern beaches of Puerto Rico to determine microplastic abundance and composition, documenting the extent of microplastic pollution on Caribbean island coastal beaches that are considered biodiversity hotspots.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Surrounded by microplastic, since when? Testing the feasibility of exploring past levels of plastic microfibre pollution using natural history museum collections

Microplastic fibers were found in over half of marine sponge specimens collected more than 20 years ago and preserved in a museum collection. This retrospective finding confirms that microplastic fiber pollution in the ocean predates recent awareness, providing a historical baseline for tracking contamination over time.

2020 Marine Pollution Bulletin 35 citations