Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Forensics Meets Ecology – Environmental DNA Offers New Capabilities for Marine Ecosystem and Fisheries Research

This review describes how environmental DNA (eDNA) tools are expanding capabilities for marine ecosystem monitoring and fisheries research, enabling non-invasive detection of species presence, biodiversity assessment, and tracking of human impacts across large ocean areas.

2021 Frontiers in Marine Science 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Utilizing aquatic environmental DNA to address global biodiversity targets

This review explores how environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis from water samples can help monitor aquatic biodiversity and track ecosystem health. While not directly about microplastics, eDNA technology is increasingly being adapted to study how plastic pollution affects aquatic ecosystems and species diversity. Better biodiversity monitoring tools help scientists understand the broader ecological impacts of microplastic contamination on the water systems that support human food and resources.

2025 Nature Reviews Biodiversity 35 citations
Review Tier 2

A State-of-the-Art Review of Aquatic eDNA  Sampling Technologies and Instrumentation: Advancements, Challenges, and Future  Prospects

This review surveys the current state of environmental DNA sampling technologies used to monitor aquatic biodiversity, covering methods from simple water filtration to automated in-situ samplers. Researchers found that while eDNA methods offer significant advantages over traditional species surveys, challenges remain in standardizing collection protocols and preventing contamination. The technology has broad implications for monitoring ecosystem health, including tracking how environmental stressors like pollution affect aquatic communities.

2025 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploitation of environmental DNA (eDNA) for ecotoxicological research: A critical review on eDNA metabarcoding in assessing marine pollution

This review examines how environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis -- a method that detects organisms through DNA traces left in water -- can be used to monitor the effects of marine pollution, including plastic waste. While eDNA does not detect plastics directly, it reveals how pollution changes the biodiversity of marine communities, serving as an early warning system. The approach could help scientists better track the ecological damage caused by microplastic contamination in oceans.

2024 Chemosphere 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental DNA in an Ocean of Change: Status, Challenges and Prospects

This review examines the status, challenges, and prospects of environmental DNA (eDNA) research in marine systems, surveying literature on metazoan eDNA studies to assess progress in detecting species distributions, biodiversity, and biomass, and highlighting future opportunities including marine time series, population genetics, natural sampler DNA, and eDNA-based trophic network reconstruction.

2022 Arquivos de Ciências do Mar 9 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

Emerging technologies revolutionising disease diagnosis and monitoring in aquatic animal health

This review covers new technologies for diagnosing diseases in farmed fish, including biosensors, genetic sequencing, and AI-powered monitoring systems. While not directly about microplastics, the advances are relevant because microplastic contamination in aquaculture environments can stress fish and increase disease susceptibility. Better disease detection in farmed fish helps protect the safety of seafood that humans consume.

2023 Reviews in Aquaculture 55 citations
Article Tier 2

Population genetic assessment of marine megafauna using seawater environmental DNA: a case study of whale sharks from the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area.

Researchers developed a population genetics method using seawater environmental DNA to genetically assess whale sharks at the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area, demonstrating a scalable and non-invasive alternative to tissue biopsy for monitoring endangered and elusive marine megafauna.

2025
Article Tier 2

Application of Environmental DNA in the Air for Monitoring Biodiversity

This review examines the use of airborne environmental DNA as a non-invasive tool for monitoring biodiversity across multiple species groups simultaneously. While focused on biodiversity monitoring methodology, the study contributes to understanding how atmospheric sampling techniques can be used to track biological and environmental changes, including the presence of airborne contaminants.

2025 Sustainability 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Current Status of Omics in Biological Quality Elements for Freshwater Biomonitoring

This review examines how advanced molecular techniques like DNA barcoding, environmental DNA analysis, and metagenomics are being applied to freshwater biomonitoring alongside traditional biological assessment methods. Researchers found that these omics-based approaches can provide faster, more comprehensive biodiversity assessments than conventional methods, but significant challenges remain in standardizing protocols and interpreting results. The study highlights how these tools could improve the detection of ecosystem impacts from emerging threats including microplastic pollution.

2023 Biology 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Viral Eco-Genomic Tools: Development and Implementation for Aquatic Biomonitoring

This review provides a comprehensive overview of eco-genomic tools for detecting enteric viruses in aquatic environments, covering conventional and next-generation sequencing approaches. The authors recommend integrating multiple detection platforms and conducting year-round sampling to accurately assess waterborne virus burdens.

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

Environmental DNA: The First Snapshot of the Vertebrate Biodiversity in Three Sicilian Lakes

Researchers applied environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to characterise vertebrate biodiversity in three Sicilian freshwater lakes, providing the first systematic snapshot of fish and other vertebrate communities in these understudied ecosystems. The study demonstrated that eDNA surveys can detect species assemblages efficiently and non-invasively in lakes subject to anthropogenic pressures.

2023 Animals 5 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of ecogenomics in environmental and forensic discoveries

This review examines ecogenomics as an integrative tool for understanding microbial diversity and function in environmental and forensic contexts, covering applications from pollution assessment to criminal investigation using environmental DNA.

2024 Bio Research Journal/Bio- Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced eDNA Recovery from Microplastic-Polluted Freshwater Systems Using Surfactant-Assisted Bead-Beating with Enzymatic Digestion

Researchers developed an improved eDNA recovery method combining surfactant-assisted bead-beating with enzymatic digestion to overcome the interference caused by microplastic pollution in freshwater biodiversity monitoring. The approach significantly enhanced eDNA retrieval from contaminated water bodies where conventional methods underperform.

2025 Natural and Engineering Sciences
Article Tier 2

Insights in Pharmaceutical Pollution: The Prospective Role of eDNA Metabarcoding

This review explored how environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding can serve as a prospective tool for monitoring the biological impacts of pharmaceutical pollution on aquatic ecosystems, complementing traditional chemical-based monitoring approaches.

2023 Toxics 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as persistent and vectors of other threats in the marine environment: Toxicological impacts, management and strategical roadmap to end plastic pollution

Researchers analyzed how microplastics spread through marine environments, acting as rafts for toxic chemicals and dangerous biofilms that infiltrate the food chain — a problem worsened by COVID-19's surge in single-use plastic waste. The review highlights emerging environmental DNA tools as a way to better track and manage marine microplastic contamination.

2024 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Are We Underestimating Microplastic Contamination in Aquatic Environments?

This review argues that current microplastic monitoring methods likely underestimate the true extent of contamination in aquatic environments, especially for small particles and fibers. The authors call for standardized, more sensitive detection methods to better inform regulation and risk assessment.

2017 Environmental Management 277 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption and Protection of Environmental DNA (eDNA) on Polymer and Silica Surfaces

Environmental DNA (eDNA) was found to adsorb onto and be protected by plastic particles in water, meaning microplastics can preserve genetic material shed by aquatic organisms. This has dual implications: microplastics may interfere with eDNA-based biodiversity monitoring while also potentially serving as DNA carriers in ecosystems.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 1 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Monitoring water contamination through shellfish: A systematic review of biomarkers, species selection, and host response.

Across 20 studies spanning 14 countries, shellfish proved highly sensitive to minor environmental changes, with 26 species and 35 effect biomarkers identified, supporting their use as reliable bioindicators of water quality, though standardized monitoring protocols are still needed.

2025 Ecotoxicology and environmental safety
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Have genetic targets for faecal pollution diagnostics and source tracking revolutionized water quality analysis yet?

This analysis of over 1,100 publications establishes genetic faecal pollution diagnostics as a distinct scientific discipline that has transformed water quality analysis over the past 30 years. PCR and sequencing methods have enabled precise identification of faecal contamination sources in water, a major advance over traditional culture-based methods.

2023 FEMS Microbiology Reviews 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Biomonitoring using comet assay in fish: a scientometric approach

This scientometric analysis reviewed 154 studies using the comet assay in fish as a biomonitoring tool for genotoxic pollution in water. The comet assay measures DNA damage in fish cells, providing a sensitive indicator of environmental contamination that can include microplastic-associated chemicals.

2019 Ecotoxicology and Environmental contamination 4 citations
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

Viral Metagenomics as a Tool to Track Sources of Fecal Contamination: A One Health Approach

This review evaluates viral metagenomics as a tool for tracking sources of fecal contamination across water, food, soil, and air within a One Health framework. Researchers found that viral metagenomics can complement traditional culture and PCR-based methods by identifying a broader range of viral indicators with narrow host ranges. The study discusses both the promise and current limitations of this approach, including challenges in sample processing and bioinformatics analysis.

2023 Viruses 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in aquatic environments: A comprehensive review of toxicity, removal, and remediation strategies

This comprehensive review covers the toxicity of microplastics on aquatic life at every level of the food chain, from algae to fish, as well as current methods for removing microplastics from water. Treatment methods like filtration and electrocoagulation can remove over 86-90% of microplastics, but no single method eliminates them completely. The review highlights the urgent need for better water treatment to protect both aquatic ecosystems and the humans who rely on them for food and water.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 107 citations