Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Occurrence and characterization of microplastic content in the digestive system of riverine fishes

Researchers found microplastics in 93.8% of riverine fish examined, with polystyrene, polyethylene, and nylon being the most common polymer types concentrated near urban and industrial areas, and small particles (0.025-1 mm) predominating across species.

2021 Journal of Environmental Management 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative study on microplastic abundance in fish organs from marine and freshwater ecosystems of the southern Baltic Sea region: influence of habitat zone and feeding preferences

Researchers found microplastics in 58% of 500 fish specimens examined across Baltic Sea and northern Polish freshwater ecosystems, with carnivorous and benthic species showing the highest contamination levels and blue fibers being the most common particle type across all habitats.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Wild gudgeons (Gobio gobio) from French rivers are contaminated by microplastics: Preliminary study and first evidence

Researchers found microplastics in the digestive tracts of wild gudgeons caught from multiple French rivers, with 12% of individuals contaminated. This field study confirms that freshwater fish in European rivers are exposed to real-world microplastic contamination through their natural foraging behavior.

2013 Environmental Research 393 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization and enumeration of microplastic pollution in three fish species of the Upper Mississippi River

Researchers found 891 microplastic particles across 281 fish from three species in the Upper Mississippi River, with fibers being the most common type and smaller fish containing proportionally more microplastics than larger ones. This confirms microplastic ingestion is widespread in freshwater fish — not just marine species — and the presence of styrene-isoprene, polyester, and ABS polymers highlights the diverse plastic sources contaminating major river systems.

2023 Minds at UW (University of Wisconsin)
Article Tier 2

Microplastic ingestion in invasive mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki): a nationwide survey from Türkiye

Researchers conducted a nationwide survey of microplastic ingestion in 621 invasive mosquitofish across 24 freshwater sites in Turkey. They found that fibers were the dominant particle shape at 66%, with PET and polyethylene being the most common polymer types, and that fish from sites with higher anthropogenic pressure contained more microplastics. The study provides large-scale evidence that freshwater fish widely ingest microplastics, with contamination levels reflecting local human activity.

2026 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the Danube River and Its Main Tributaries—Ingestion by Freshwater Macroinvertebrates

Researchers measured microplastic concentrations in the Danube River and its major tributaries and analyzed ingestion by freshwater fish species collected from multiple sites. Microplastics were detected in a significant proportion of fish, with ingestion rates correlating with local plastic contamination levels, documenting widespread plastic exposure across the Danube watershed's fish communities.

2024 Water 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution in freshwater fishes in the South of Italy: Characterization, distribution, and correlation with environmental pollutants

Researchers investigated the presence, abundance, and polymer composition of microplastics in the gastrointestinal tracts of freshwater fish from rivers in southern Italy, and evaluated correlations between microplastic ingestion and environmental pollutant levels. They found microplastics in multiple fish species, with fiber morphologies predominating, and identified associations between microplastic burden and co-occurring chemical contaminants in the sampled environments.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Contamination of microplastics in Brantas River, East Java, Indonesia and its distribution in gills and digestive tracts of fish Gambusia affinis

Researchers sampled water, gills, and digestive tracts of fish in Indonesia's Brantas River and found microplastics in all three, with fragments under 0.1 mm making up the majority — demonstrating that river fish are actively ingesting microplastics that then accumulate in their bodies.

2021 Emerging contaminants 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination in gudgeons (Gobio gobio) from Flemish rivers (Belgium)

Researchers found microplastic contamination in gudgeons (Gobio gobio) from Flemish rivers in Belgium, contributing early evidence of microplastic ingestion in European freshwater fish and highlighting the need for greater attention to plastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems.

2018 Environmental Pollution 139 citations
Article Tier 2

Prevalence of microplastics in commonly consumed fish species of the river Old Brahmaputra, Bangladesh

Researchers found microplastics in nearly 59% of edible fish from Bangladesh's Old Brahmaputra river, with polyethylene fibers and pellets dominating, and ingestion rates linked to fish size, feeding behavior, and downstream location.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and characteristics of microplastics in fish of the Han River, South Korea: Factors affecting microplastic abundance in fish

Microplastics were detected in 106 fish from 22 species at three sites in South Korea's Han River, with an average of 16-20 particles per individual and downstream sites showing the highest contamination, reflecting greater human activity and urban inputs near the river mouth.

2021 Environmental Research 57 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparison of microplastic intake in two fish species from different functional feeding groups in Europe's second-largest river

Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in two fish species — bleak and round goby — along a 1,716 km transect of the Danube River using standardized sampling protocols. MPs were detected in both species across the entire river length, with contamination levels varying by species and location.

2025 Chemosphere
Article Tier 2

Microlitter measurement in fish Rutilus rutilus from the Slovenian part of the Mura river basin

Researchers examined the gastrointestinal tracts of 50 common roach caught from the Slovenian portion of the Mura River basin, conducting the first study of microlitter contamination in Slovenian freshwater fish and characterizing the abundance, morphology, and polymer types of ingested particles.

2022 Acta Biologica Slovenica
Article Tier 2

A systematic study of the microplastic burden in freshwater fishes of south-western Germany - Are we searching at the right scale?

A comprehensive survey of 1,167 freshwater fish from 22 species across 11 rivers and 6 lakes in southwestern Germany found an apparent microplastic prevalence of 18.8%, but particle size analysis revealed that over 95% of particles were likely smaller than the 40 μm detection limit, suggesting true prevalence may reach 100% with an average of ~23 particles per fish. The findings challenge the validity of most existing microplastic surveys in fish, which miss the smallest and most abundant fraction.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 127 citations
Article Tier 2

Food ecology and presence of microplastic in the stomach content of neotropical fish in an urban river of the upper Paraná River Basin

Microplastics were found in the stomachs of multiple fish species in an urban Brazilian river, with ingestion rates linked to each species' feeding ecology. The findings confirm that microplastics have entered the freshwater food chain, raising concern about contamination reaching people who eat these fish.

2020 Ambiente e Agua - An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Science 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic characterization in small freshwater fishes collected in Gyeongan-cheon, a tributary stream of Han River in South Korea: Ingestion and depuration study of Nylon

Researchers characterized microplastic distribution in freshwater fishes from Gyeongan-cheon, a Han River tributary in South Korea, finding 34-284 particles per individual with fibers and fragments predominating, and conducted nylon ingestion and depuration experiments to assess clearance rates.

2024 Environmental Pollution 1 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

Microparticles in Wild and Caged Biota, Sediments, and Water Relative to Large Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Discharges

Researchers examined microplastic levels in fish, water, and sediment upstream and downstream of two large wastewater treatment plants along the Grand River in Ontario, Canada. Despite expectations, they did not find consistently higher microplastic levels in organisms living near wastewater outfalls compared to upstream sites. The findings suggest that microplastic contamination in rivers may come from many widespread sources rather than being dominated by wastewater discharge.

2024 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment on Microplastics Contamination in Freshwater Fish: a Case Study of the Ubolratana Reservoir, Thailand

Researchers examined microplastic contamination in freshwater fish from the Ubolratana Reservoir, Thailand, finding that 96.4% of 14 examined species had ingested microplastics, and assessed abundance, size, colour, and shape of particles from stomach and intestinal contents across sampling stations.

2021 International Journal of Geomate 27 citations
Article Tier 2

First Evidence of Microplastic Ingestion by Riverine Fish From the Freshwater of Northwest Peninsular Malaysia

Researchers found microplastics in the guts of multiple fish species from two rivers in northwest Malaysia, with some species averaging nearly 50 microplastic particles per gram of body weight. The dominant particles were fibers and fragments of polyethylene and polypropylene — findings that signal widespread contamination of freshwater food sources and raise concerns about human exposure through fish consumption.

2024 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization and spatial distribution of microplastics in two wild captured economic freshwater fish from north and west rivers of Guangdong province

Microplastics were found in two economically important freshwater fish species sampled across Guangdong Province, China, with fibers being the most common type and polypropylene and polyester the dominant polymers. The widespread contamination of commercial freshwater fish in China indicates a significant pathway for human exposure through fish consumption.

2020 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence of microplastics in the gastrointestinal tract of Amazonian fish species with different feeding habits

Microplastics were found in the gastrointestinal tracts of multiple Amazonian fish species with different feeding habits from Lake Janauacá and the Anavilhanas Archipelago, with feeding strategy influencing ingestion rates—underscoring widespread microplastic contamination even in remote Amazon basin aquatic ecosystems.

2025 Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 2 citations
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
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