Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.2
2.7
Journals
Animals
Special Issues
Aquatic Organisms Biomarkers in Toxicology: Assessing Exposure and Effects
share announcement

Aquatic Organisms Biomarkers in Toxicology: Assessing Exposure and Effects

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Aquatic Animals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 August 2026 | Viewed by 2592

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mariana Teles

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: fish physiology; fish stress response; emerging contaminants; nanoplastics; non-lethal biomarkers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Camila de Fátima Pereira de Faria

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Animal Morphology and Physiology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Interests: fish physiology; fish stress response; immune system; antioxidant system; emerging contaminants; microplastics; behavior

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aquatic ecosystems are increasingly threatened by complex mixtures of anthropogenic pollutants, necessitating robust tools to assess ecological and public health risks. Aquatic organisms, such as fish and mussels, as ecologically sensitive organisms, are widely employed as bioindicators in ecotoxicological studies. Biomarkers—encompassing molecular, biochemical, physiological, and behavioral responses—provide critical insights into contaminant exposure and sublethal effects, bridging the gap between environmental stressors and organismal health.

This Special Issue of Animals highlights advances in biomarker research, focusing on their application in detecting chemical exposure and toxicity across diverse aquatic systems. We invite studies elucidating mechanistic pathways (e.g., oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, genotoxicity, immunotoxicity) and methodological innovations that enhance biomarker sensitivity and specificity. Contributions may explore biomarker validation, field-to-laboratory translational approaches, or their integration into regulatory frameworks.

By synthesizing interdisciplinary research—from molecular toxicology to environmental monitoring—this issue aims to refine biomarker utility in ecological risk assessment. We welcome original research, reviews, and methodological papers that address emerging challenges, such as multi-stressor interactions or biomarker responses in underrepresented species.

Dr. Mariana Teles
Dr. Camila de Fátima Pereira de Faria
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fish biomarkers
  • aquatic toxicology
  • chemical exposure
  • environmental monitoring
  • ecotoxicology
  • biological indicators

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

18 pages, 1480 KB  
Article
Characterizing the Health Status of European Hake (Merluccius merluccius) in Areas with Different Anthropic Impacts (NW Mediterranean Sea)
by Irene Brandts, Sergi Omedes, Carmen Gilardoni, Marc Balcells, Montserrat Solé and Eve Galimany
Animals 2026, 16(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16010014 - 19 Dec 2025
Viewed by 917
Abstract
The high incidence of anthropogenic impacts in the Mediterranean basin raises concerns on the health and quality of commercial fish species. This study aims to evaluate the health status of the European hake, Merluccius merluccius, from three areas of the Catalan coast [...] Read more.
The high incidence of anthropogenic impacts in the Mediterranean basin raises concerns on the health and quality of commercial fish species. This study aims to evaluate the health status of the European hake, Merluccius merluccius, from three areas of the Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean Sea) with different anthropogenic impacts (i.e., chemical pollution, litter, …) and assess if hake could serve as a sentinel species. We measured biomarkers of chemical exposure including B-esterases, antioxidant enzymes (GST, GR, GPx, CAT), biotransformation markers (EROD), lipid peroxidation, and macro-parasite assemblages. Hake showed, generally, a good health status across all areas with homogeneous patterns for most parameters. Tissue-specific differences included elevated gonadal cholinesterases and higher brain and hepatic carboxylesterase activities in the south, and increased hepatic EROD but lower lipid peroxidation in the central Barcelona area. Parasite assemblages were dominated by Digenea, Cestoda, and Nematoda, with higher cestode prevalence in both central and south zones. In summary, despite a greater prevalence of environmental pollution in the central region, there was a homogeneous pattern in hake health indicators throughout the three studied fishing zones. These results establish a baseline for hake health in Mediterranean waters and suggest that the species’ high mobility and wide depth range may limit its utility to detect local-scale pollution impacts, though it may serve as a regional-scale bioindicator. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Organisms Biomarkers in Toxicology: Assessing Exposure and Effects)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

16 pages, 1624 KB  
Review
The Impact of Nanoplastics on the Quality of Fish Sperm: A Review
by Hayam Djafar, Saira Naz, Maria Montserrat Rivera Del Alamo, Juan Carlos Balasch and Mariana Teles
Animals 2026, 16(1), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16010094 - 29 Dec 2025
Viewed by 1060
Abstract
Pollution in aquatic ecosystems is intensifying under the combined pressures of climate change and anthropogenic contaminants, with nanoplastics (NPs) emerging as a critical threat to fish reproduction. Although extensive research has demonstrated the physiological impacts of NPs, their direct effects on sperm quality [...] Read more.
Pollution in aquatic ecosystems is intensifying under the combined pressures of climate change and anthropogenic contaminants, with nanoplastics (NPs) emerging as a critical threat to fish reproduction. Although extensive research has demonstrated the physiological impacts of NPs, their direct effects on sperm quality and functionality remain poorly characterized. This review synthesizes evidence from original research articles that specifically examined NPs’ impacts on fish sperm quality and related reproductive endpoints. The findings reveal that NPs consistently impair sperm motility, viability, and fertilization capacity, while inducing oxidative stress, DNA damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, and endocrine disruption. Particle size, surface chemistry, and exposure route were identified as key determinants of toxicity, with direct sperm exposure causing immediate impairments and chronic or maternal transfer exposures leading to systemic and transgenerational effects. Notably, several studies reported reduced offspring survival, altered development, and disrupted gene expression, highlighting the intergenerational risks of NPs contamination. Despite these advances, significant knowledge gaps remain, including limited research on marine wild and cultured fish species, the effects of diverse life histories on NPs toxicity, environmentally relevant exposure levels, and the combined effects of NPs with other stressors. Overall, this review underscores that fish sperm are highly sensitive to NPs pollution, with consequences that extend across generations and threaten population stability, calling for urgent mechanistic and ecologically realistic investigations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Organisms Biomarkers in Toxicology: Assessing Exposure and Effects)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop