Sentinel species
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Microplastics as an emerging threat to terrestrial ecosystems Open
Microplastics (plastics <5 mm, including nanoplastics which are <0.1 μm) originate from the fragmentation of large plastic litter or from direct environmental emission. Their potential impacts in terrestrial ecosystems remain largely unexp…
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Sampling, isolating and identifying microplastics ingested by fish and invertebrates Open
Microplastic debris (<5 mm) is a prolific environmental pollutant, found worldwide in marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. This review assesses the numerous different methods used to identify microplastics ingested by marine orga…
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Marine top predators as climate and ecosystem sentinels Open
The rapid pace of environmental change in the Anthropocene necessitates the development of a new suite of tools for measuring ecosystem dynamics. Sentinel species can provide insight into ecosystem function, identify hidden risks to human …
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Microplastic ingestion ubiquitous in marine turtles Open
Despite concerns regarding the environmental impacts of microplastics, knowledge of the incidence and levels of synthetic particles in large marine vertebrates is lacking. Here, we utilize an optimized enzymatic digestion methodology, prev…
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Current Insights into Monitoring, Bioaccumulation, and Potential Health Effects of Microplastics Present in the Food Chain Open
Microplastics (MPs) are considered an emerging issue as environmental pollutants and a potential health threat. This review will focus on recently published data on concentrations in food, possible effects, and monitoring methods. Some dat…
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Marine mammals and microplastics: A systematic review and call for standardisation Open
Microplastics receive significant societal and scientific attention due to increasing concerns about their impact on the environment and human health. Marine mammals are considered indicators for marine ecosystem health and many species ar…
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Honey bees as biomonitors of environmental contaminants, pathogens, and climate change Open
Monitoring the environment for pollution, pesticides, and pathogens is crucial for protecting human, agriculture, and overall ecosystem health. Diverse strategies ranging from physical sensors to sentinel species have been used for environ…
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Population‐level consequences for wild fish exposed to sublethal concentrations of chemicals – a critical review Open
Concentrated chemical spills have been shown to impact adversely on fish populations and even cause localized population extinctions. Evaluating population‐level impacts of sublethal exposure concentrations is, however, complex and confoun…
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Solving the plastic problem: From cradle to grave, to reincarnation Open
Plastic packaging accounts for 36% of all plastics made, but amounts to 47% of all plastic waste; 90% of all plastic items are used once and then discarded, which corresponds to around 50% of the total mass of plastics manufactured. Eviden…
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Approaches to Test the Neurotoxicity of Environmental Contaminants in the Zebrafish Model: From Behavior to Molecular Mechanisms Open
The occurrence of neuroactive chemicals in the aquatic environment is on the rise and poses a potential threat to aquatic biota of currently unpredictable outcome. In particular, subtle changes caused by these chemicals to an organism's se…
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Biomonitoring of Heavy Metal Pollution Using Acanthocephalans Parasite in Ecosystem: An Updated Overview Open
As a result of the global industrial revolution, contamination of the ecosystem by heavy metals has given rise to one of the most important ecological and organismic problems, particularly human, early developmental stages of fish and anim…
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Microplastics in Sea Turtles, Marine Mammals and Humans: A One Environmental Health Perspective Open
Microplastics are ubiquitous pollutants in the marine environment and a health concern. They are generated directly for commercial purposes or indirectly from the breakdown of larger plastics. Examining a toxicological profile for micropla…
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Plastic contamination of a Galapagos Island (Ecuador) and the relative risks to native marine species Open
Ecuador's Galapagos Islands and their unique biodiversity are a global conservation priority. We explored the presence, composition and environmental drivers of plastic contamination across the marine ecosystem at an island scale, investig…
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Snail as sentinel organism for monitoring the environmental pollution; a review Open
International audience
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Exploring the Impact of Contaminants of Emerging Concern on Fish and Invertebrates Physiology in the Mediterranean Sea Open
In this historical context, the Mediterranean Sea faces an increasing threat from emerging pollutants such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, heavy metals, pesticides and microplastics, which pose a serious risk to the environment…
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Interactive effects of warming and microplastics on metabolism but not feeding rates of a key freshwater detritivore Open
Microplastics are an emerging pollutant of high concern, with their prevalence in the environment linked to adverse impacts on aquatic organisms. However, our knowledge of these impacts on freshwater species is rudimentary, and there is al…
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Towards harmonisation of chemical monitoring using avian apex predators: Identification of key species for pan-European biomonitoring Open
Biomonitoring in raptors can be used to study long-term and large-scale changes in environmental pollution. In Europe, such monitoring is needed to assess environmental risks and outcomes of chemicals regulation, which is harmonised across…
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Experimental Approaches for Characterizing the Endocrine-Disrupting Effects of Environmental Chemicals in Fish Open
Increasing industrial and agricultural activities have led to a disturbing increase of pollutant discharges into the environment. Most of these pollutants can induce short-term, sustained or delayed impacts on developmental, physiological,…
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The ecotoxicology of marine tributyltin (TBT) hotspots: A review Open
Tributyltin (TBT) was widely used as a highly efficient biocide in antifouling paints for ship and boat hulls. Eventually, TBT containing paints became globally banned when TBT was found to cause widespread contamination and non-target adv…
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Non-invasive Methods for Measuring and Monitoring Stress Physiology in Imperiled Amphibians Open
Global climate change is negatively impacting global biodiversity and ectothermic vertebrates, with amphibians being the most imperiled vertebrate taxa. Increased mean global atmospheric temperatures, high rates of habitat degradation, and…
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Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Neurotoxicity in Sentinel and Non-Traditional Laboratory Model Systems: Potential Utility in Predicting Adverse Outcomes in Human Health Open
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of chemicals that were widely used in manufacturing and are now present in the environment throughout the world. It is known that various PFAS are quantifiable in human in blood, but p…
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Microplastic ingestion by commercial marine fish from the seawater of Northwest Peninsular Malaysia Open
Over the past decade, concerns over microplastic pollution in the marine ecosystem has increasingly gained more attention, but research investigating the ingestion of microplastics by marine fish in Malaysia is still regrettably lacking. T…
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Fatty acids as suitable biomarkers to assess pesticide impacts in freshwater biological scales – A review Open
The toxic effects associated to pesticides have been for long a concern in terms of environmental and human safety. The recognition of the limitations of numerous, if not all, pesticides in terms of species-specificity, toxicity level, per…
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Environmental DNA is an effective tool to track recolonizing migratory fish following large‐scale dam removal Open
Environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as a potentially powerful tool for use in conservation and resource management, including for tracking the recolonization dynamics of fish populations. We used eDNA to assess the effectiveness of dam re…
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High Frequency Non-invasive (HFNI) Bio-Sensors As a Potential Tool for Marine Monitoring and Assessments Open
Marine ecosystems all over the globe are facing multiple simultaneous stressors including rapid climatic change and increased resource exploitation, such as fishing, petroleum exploration and shipping. The EU-funded DEVOTES project (DEVelo…
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Short-Term and Long-Term Biological Effects of Chronic Chemical Contamination on Natural Populations of a Marine Bivalve Open
Understanding the effects of chronic chemical contamination on natural populations of marine organisms is complex due to the combined effects of different types of pollutants and environmental parameters that can modulate the physiological…
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Biochemical, Genotoxic and Histological Implications of Polypropylene Microplastics on Freshwater Fish Oreochromis mossambicus: An Aquatic Eco-Toxicological Assessment Open
In recent years, polypropylene microplastic has persisted in freshwater ecosystems and biota, forming ever-growing threats. This research aimed to prepare polypropylene microplastics and evaluate their toxicity to the filter feeder Oreochr…
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Strandings, mortality and morbidity of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins in Hong Kong, with emphasis on the role of organochlorine contaminants Open
Factors related to mortality and disease in Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) from Hong Kong waters were investigated by detailed examination of dolphin specimens found stranded from 1995-2004. In total, 86 specimens were ne…
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Effects of the Marine Biotoxins Okadaic Acid and Dinophysistoxins on Fish Open
Natural high proliferations of toxin-producing microorganisms in marine and freshwater environments result in dreadful consequences at the socioeconomically and environmental level due to water and seafood contamination. Monitoring program…
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Integrative Biomarker Assessment of the Influence of Saxitoxin on Marine Bivalves: A Comparative Study of the Two Bivalve Species Oysters, Crassostrea gigas, and Scallops, Chlamys farreri Open
Harmful algae blooms have expanded greatly in recent decades, and their secreted toxins pose a severe threat to human health and marine ecosystems. Saxitoxin (STX) is a main paralytic shellfish poison naturally produced by marine microalga…