Ecotoxicity Effects of Metals and Microplastics on Aquatic Organisms
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 1469
Special Issue Editor
Interests: pollutants; environmental stressors; marine species; climate change; species vulnerabilities; resilience
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In recent years, a wide range of anthropogenic contaminants have been released into aquatic ecosystems as a consequence of human activity, including such sources as industrial effluents, agricultural activities, urban waste, and increased urbanization. The aquatic biota is experiencing co-occurring climate change and pollution, especially in coastal areas and around urban zones, influencing the normal function of aquatic ecosystems. Metals and plastic products are widely used in human activities and are subsequently mostly released into the environment via wastewater or other pathways, posing serious threats to the aquatic biota. Being non-biodegradable, metals tend to persist in nature, leading to bio-accumulation in food chains and interacting with cellular components and molecular targets, which causes severe environmental and health issues. Microplastics (MPs) are produced by the natural degradation processes of large plastic products or by anthropogenic activities. To protect aquatic species and safeguard their ecosystems, it is crucial to identify the main sources of metals and MPs, their fate in the aquatic environment, and their effects on aquatic organisms. Achieving this will provide more sustainable and lasting measures to protect aquatic life from anthropogenic activities. Thus, ecotoxicological studies are crucial in deepening our knowledge about how these pollutants affect aquatic organisms, alone or acting as mixtures, as well as their effect when interacting with the rising temperatures caused by climate change.
Therefore, in this Special Issue, we invite investigators to contribute with original research articles, as well as review articles, covering the effects of metals and MP pollution on aquatic organisms.
Dr. Chiara Martino
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- aquatic organisms
- emerging contaminants
- metals
- microplastics
- defense strategies
- cell stress
- heavy metals
- environmental stress
- pollution
- ecotoxicology
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