Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastic accumulation in benthic macroinvertebrates is widespread, regardless of the river ecological status

A broad survey of freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates across multiple rivers found that microplastic accumulation was widespread regardless of local urban development levels, suggesting that factors beyond proximity to urban areas—such as river hydrology and upstream sources—drive MP exposure in freshwater invertebrates.

2025 Hydrobiologia 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of Urbanization and Seasonality on Microplastics in a Small Brazilian Inland Stream

Researchers sampled a small Brazilian inland stream upstream and downstream of an urban center during dry and rainy seasons, finding urbanization significantly increased microplastic abundance from 1.7 to 2.6 particles per liter during the dry season, while rainfall effects were less consistent.

2025 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Contamination and Ecological Status of Freshwater Ecosystems: A Case Study in Two Northern Portuguese Rivers

Microplastic contamination was assessed in sediments and Oligochaeta gut contents across two rivers with different ecological status scores, finding that urbanization rather than ecological status was the primary driver of sediment microplastic abundance. The results indicate that ecological quality indices alone are insufficient for tracking microplastic pollution in freshwater systems.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in streams spanning an urbanisation gradient

Researchers sampled microplastics in small streams across an urbanization gradient and found contamination at all sites, with concentrations comparable to those in larger rivers and lakes. Fragments and small particles between 63 and 500 micrometers were the most common forms detected. Surprisingly, catchment-scale factors like population density and stormwater overflows did not predict microplastic levels well, suggesting that local-scale sources may be more important for pollution in small streams.

2019 Environmental Pollution 218 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial and temporal variations of microplastic concentrations in Portland's freshwater ecosystems

Microplastic concentrations were monitored across Portland's urban freshwater ecosystems, revealing that land use, stormwater inputs, and seasonal variation all influenced plastic levels in rivers and streams. The study found that urban catchments with higher impervious surfaces consistently showed elevated microplastic concentrations.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 74 citations
Article Tier 2

Seasonality can override the effects of anthropogenic activities on microplastic presence in invertebrate deposit feeders in an urban river system

Researchers investigated how anthropogenic land use and seasonality influence internal microplastic concentrations in midge larvae across an urban river watershed in Taiwan, finding that seasonality overrode land-use effects and that agricultural activity had a significant negative nonlinear relationship with microplastic accumulation.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Benthic macroinvertebrates and microplastic contamination in contrasting water quality environments of the Middle Tietê River basin (São Paulo, Brazil)

Researchers compared microplastic contamination in benthic invertebrates and sediments between a heavily polluted urban river and a cleaner tributary in São Paulo, Brazil. Higher microplastic concentrations were found near urban areas, confirming that human activity drives plastic accumulation in freshwater ecosystems.

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

Abundance, Distribution and Drivers of Microplastic Contaminant in Urban River Environments

Researchers surveyed microplastic distribution in urban river environments and identified key drivers of accumulation hotspots, finding that land use, hydrology, and infrastructure factors concentrated microplastics at predictable locations that could inform targeted management interventions.

2018 Preprints.org 38 citations
Article Tier 2

The artificialization in the sediment profiles of the streams in the Água Branca basin – Itirapina, São Paulo, Brazil

This Brazilian study examined urban stream sediments for signs of human impact, comparing samples collected in wet and dry seasons and across land use types. Urban river sediments are major sinks and transport pathways for microplastics, and physical sediment composition reflects overall levels of anthropogenic contamination.

2021 Journal of Environmental Management 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of urbanization and water quality on microplastic distribution in Conceição Lagoon watershed, Brazil

Researchers assessed microplastic distribution across urbanized and non-urbanized tributaries of Conceicao Lagoon watershed in Brazil. The study found that while urbanization significantly affected water quality parameters, it did not always correspond to higher microplastic concentrations. Evidence indicates that microplastic pollution in freshwater systems is influenced by multiple factors beyond urbanization alone, complicating simple predictions about contamination patterns.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial and temporal distribution of microplastics in water and sediments of a freshwater system (Antuã River, Portugal)

This study tracked the spatial and temporal distribution of microplastics in water and sediments of a freshwater lake, finding seasonal variation in microplastic concentrations and identifying local land use and runoff as key drivers of contamination patterns.

2018 The Science of The Total Environment 800 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

Distinct microplastic patterns in the sediment and biota of an urban stream

Researchers found distinct microplastic contamination patterns between sediments and aquatic biota in an urban stream, with sediments accumulating more particles while biota showed selective uptake based on particle size and shape, highlighting the complex dynamics of microplastic distribution in urban freshwater systems.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of Microplastic Pollution in River Ecosystems: Effect of Land Use and Biotic Indices

Researchers analyzed microplastic pollution in Spanish river ecosystems and found that concentrations in both water and sediment were strongly linked to surrounding urban land use. They discovered that traditional water quality assessments based on biological indicators do not capture microplastic contamination effectively. The study suggests that new monitoring approaches are needed to account for this emerging pollutant in river health evaluations.

2024 Water 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribuição longitudinal, vertical e temporal de microplásticos no Igarapé do Mindu em Manaus, Amazonas

Researchers analyzed longitudinal, vertical, and temporal distribution of microplastics in the Mindu stream in Manaus, Brazil, finding that urban concentration, stream hydrodynamics, and riparian vegetation all influence microplastic contamination patterns in this Amazonian freshwater system.

2023 Engenharia Sanitaria e Ambiental 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of urbanization and water quality on microplastic distribution in Conceição Lagoon watershed, Brazil

A study of a Brazilian lagoon watershed found that urbanization significantly degraded water quality but did not clearly increase microplastic concentrations in tributary streams. Microplastic levels in the lagoon itself were correlated with indicators of wastewater discharge, and wind and rainfall influenced their distribution.

2023
Article Tier 2

The microplastic profile of an urban African stream

Microplastics were detected in water, sediment, and chironomid larvae in the Braamfontein Spruit urban stream in Johannesburg, South Africa, with weirs and areas of reduced flow increasing local accumulation in sediment and invertebrates. The study demonstrates that urban stream features can concentrate microplastics and increase exposure for benthic organisms.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 133 citations
Article Tier 2

A case study investigating temporal factors that influence microplastic concentration in streams under different treatment regimes

Microplastic concentrations in streams fluctuate significantly over time, influenced by rainfall events and seasonal factors, which can make single-sample studies misleading. The study emphasizes the need for repeated, time-series sampling to accurately assess microplastic pollution in rivers.

2019 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial and temporal variability in in-stream microplastic loads can impact downstream plastic export

This study demonstrated that microplastic loads in streams show significant spatial and temporal variability driven by storm events and seasonal patterns, and that these dynamics can strongly influence the total plastic export from river systems to downstream waters.

2024
Article Tier 2

Identifying the distribution and source of riverine plastic waste contamination: case study of Brantas River in Malang city

Researchers investigated microplastic concentrations and macroinvertebrate communities at three stations along the Brantas River in Malang City, Indonesia, integrating microplastic counts, SIGNAL-2 bioassessment scores, and household waste management surveys. The highest microplastic burden and lowest macroinvertebrate diversity occurred at the station where 80% of residents disposed of plastic waste directly into the river.

2024 Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrating land cover, point source pollution, and watershed hydrologic processes data to understand the distribution of microplastics in riverbed sediments

Researchers sampled riverbed sediments across the Meramec River watershed in Missouri and applied hydrological modelling to assess which factors best predict benthic microplastic distribution, finding that land cover and point source pollution variables outperformed discharge and sediment load in explaining spatial patterns, highlighting the dominance of anthropogenic sources over transport dynamics.

2022 Environmental Pollution 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of microplastic transport and distribution in the urban environment of Coimbra municipality

Researchers tracked microplastic transport and distribution across five urban watersheds in Coimbra, Portugal, sampling atmospheric deposition, runoff, and streams before and during rainfall. Wet deposition carried more MPs than dry deposition, stream concentrations nearly doubled during rain events, and more urbanized, smaller watersheds had higher MP loads.

2025 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Triggers for the Impoverishment of the Macroinvertebrate Communities in the Human-Impacted Rivers of Two Central European Ecoregions

This study investigated triggers for macroinvertebrate community impoverishment in human-impacted rivers across two Central European ecoregions, finding that hydromorphological degradation and invasive species introduction were stronger drivers of biodiversity loss than water chemistry alone.

2021 Water Air & Soil Pollution 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Seasonal Abundance and Distribution Patterns of Microplastics in the Lis River, Portugal

Researchers investigated seasonal microplastic abundance and distribution in Portugal's Lis River Basin across nine sites, finding fibres and fragments dominated in both water and sediment, with polyethylene the most common polymer in water. Population density, plastic processing companies, and meteorological factors were all associated with seasonal variation in microplastic patterns.

2022 Sustainability 30 citations