Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Study of Heavy Metals and Microbial Communities in Contaminated Sediments Along an Urban Estuary

Researchers studied heavy metal contamination and microbial community composition in estuarine sediments along an urban waterway, finding that urbanization-driven metal accumulation significantly altered microbial diversity and community structure.

2021 Frontiers in Marine Science 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Water Bacterial and Fungal Community Compositions Associated with Urban Lakes, Xi’an, China

Bacterial and fungal communities in urban lakes in Xi'an, China were characterized, revealing diverse microbial assemblages influenced by nutrient levels and land use in the surrounding watershed. Understanding the microbial ecology of urban lakes provides context for how microplastic-associated microbial communities might interact with existing water quality challenges.

2018 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence, Composition, and Risk Assessment of Microplastics and Adsorbed Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Urban Drainage Sediments Along the Yangtze River, China

Urban drainage sediments from three Yangtze River cities contained 130–564 microplastic particles per 100 grams, with the highest concentrations near commercial and campus areas, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were found adsorbed to many particles. Microplastics acting as carriers for toxic PAHs in stormwater systems represent a compounded threat to aquatic ecosystems and drinking water sources.

2026 Sustainability
Article Tier 2

Anthropogenic land uses shape denitrification-related microbial communities in freshwater river ecosystems

Researchers investigated how anthropogenic land uses (agricultural and urbanized) versus natural land uses shape denitrification-related microbial communities in the Weihe and Hanjiang Rivers in China's Qinling Mountains using deep 16S rRNA gene sequencing of water and sediment samples. Results revealed that land-use type significantly alters the composition and function of nitrogen-cycling microbial communities in freshwater river ecosystems.

2022
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

Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Spatial Differentiation of Urban Black and Odorous Waters in China

This Chinese study analyzed the geographic distribution of urban black and odorous water bodies — severely polluted urban waterways — and the factors driving their spatial patterns. Urban waterways are major pathways for microplastics from cities to receiving water bodies and coastal zones.

2018 Sustainability 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Bacterial Community Structure and Its Influencing Factors in Surface Sediments of the Nyang River in the Dry Season, China

Researchers analyzed bacterial community diversity in surface sediments of the Nyang River in Tibet using high-throughput sequencing, finding that climate warming and human activities along this plateau river have measurably shaped microbial composition and structure.

2023 Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial distribution and vertical characteristics of microplastics in the urban river: The case of Qinhuai River in Nanjing, China

Researchers investigated the spatial distribution and vertical characteristics of microplastics in the Qinhuai River in Nanjing, China. The study found an average concentration of about 668 microplastic items per liter, with abundance patterns varying between surface and deep water at different points along the river, and identified correlations between microplastic presence and shifts in microbial community structure.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Archaeal contribution to carbon-functional composition and abundance in China’s coastal wetlands: Not to be underestimated

Researchers investigated microbial diversity and carbon-functional gene composition across twenty coastal wetlands along China's coast, finding that archaeal rather than bacterial communities dominate carbon-functional gene composition and that Nanoarchaeaeota is the key archaeal phylum driving carbon cycling in anoxic sediments.

2022 Frontiers in Microbiology 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution alters bacterial community in hyporheic sediments: A case study from the Beiluo River Basin

Researchers surveyed microplastics in hyporheic zone sediments (the biologically active layer beneath riverbeds) of China's Beiluo River and found that PET fragments smaller than 30 µm dominated, with polymer type and particle size driving distinct shifts in bacterial community composition and suppressing overall microbial diversity.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Rapid urbanization affects microplastic communities in lake sediments: A case study of Lake Aha in southwest China

Researchers investigated how rapid urbanization affects microplastic communities in Lake Aha sediments in southwest China, using sediment core slicing to reveal that urbanization significantly increased microplastic abundance and altered polymer composition over time.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics contributed much less than organic matter to the burial of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by sediments in the past decades: a case study from an urban lake

Researchers analyzed sediment cores from an urban Chinese lake to understand how microplastics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have accumulated over recent decades. They found that microplastics contributed relatively little to PAH burial compared to organic matter, but microplastic abundance increased steadily alongside industrialization.

2022 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Bacterioplankton Molecular Ecological Networks in the Yuan River under Different Human Activity Intensity

Bacterioplankton co-occurrence networks in the Yuan River varied spatially and temporally with human activity intensity, with sites under heavy anthropogenic pressure showing simpler, less connected networks and reduced microbial diversity, suggesting that human disturbances destabilize aquatic microbial community interactions.

2021 Microorganisms 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring correlations between microplastics, microorganisms, and water quality in an urban drinking water source

This study explored the relationships between microplastics, microorganisms, and water quality in China's Xiangjiang River, a source of urban drinking water. Researchers found that microplastic levels were higher near urban areas and wastewater plant outlets, and that the smallest particles showed the strongest correlations with microbial community changes, suggesting complex interactions between plastic pollution and river ecosystems.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution and characteristics of microplastics in an urban river: The response to urban waste management

Microplastics were detected throughout surface water and sediments of an urban Chinese river (Nanming River) in both dry and wet seasons, with 25 different polymer types identified and the highest concentrations near sewage discharge points and plastic waste dump sites. The study shows that urban river management practices — particularly wastewater handling — are critical in controlling how much plastic reaches downstream ecosystems.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of microplastics on microbial community in sediments of the Huangjinxia Reservoir—water source of a water diversion project in western China

Researchers examined microplastic contamination and its effects on microbial communities in sediments of the Huangjinxia Reservoir in western China, investigating how microplastic presence alters the composition and function of microbial assemblages in this drinking water source.

2020 Chemosphere 97 citations
Article Tier 2

Evidence of selective enrichment of bacterial assemblages and antibiotic resistant genes by microplastics in urban rivers

Researchers sampled microplastics from two urban rivers in China and found that the bacterial communities colonizing plastic particles were distinctly different from those in the surrounding water. The microplastic-associated bacteria had lower diversity but higher proportions of biofilm-forming species and functions linked to human disease. Notably, the study found that microplastics selectively enriched antibiotic resistance genes, raising concerns about plastics serving as reservoirs for drug-resistant bacteria.

2020 Water Research 313 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecological Rolesand Shared Microbes Differentiatethe Plastisphere from Natural Particle-Associated Microbiomes in UrbanRivers

Researchers compared the microbiomes on microplastics (the 'plastisphere') versus natural particles in ten urban rivers using metagenomics, finding similar overall taxonomic and functional compositions between the two. However, the plastisphere harbored distinct specialist taxa with enhanced capacity for complex carbohydrate metabolism and unique ecological strategies.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Water Bodies of Dong Lake and Tangxun Lake, China: Spatial Distribution, Potential Sources and Risk Assessment

Researchers surveyed two of China's largest urban inland lakes for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination and found these toxic compounds present in water samples from both lakes. Using source analysis models, they determined that the contamination primarily came from petroleum combustion and industrial activities in the surrounding urban areas. While focused on chemical pollutants rather than microplastics directly, the study illustrates how urban lakes accumulate multiple types of environmental contaminants simultaneously.

2023 Water 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative analysis of microplastic and microbial communities in varied aquatic environments: Disparities in occurrence, interconnections, and ecological implications

Comparative surveys of microplastics and associated microbial communities across river, reservoir, and bay environments in the Dongjiang watershed found that MP abundance and microbial community composition differed significantly by water type, with MP surfaces hosting distinct microbial assemblages.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations