Bridging Ecosystem Contamination and One Health: Integrating Environmental, Animal, and Human Risk Assessment

Abstract submission deadline

28 December 2026

Manuscript submission deadline

28 February 2027

Viewed by

9495

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental contamination remains one of the most pressing global threats, with pollutants such as microplastics, heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) increasingly affecting ecosystems and public health. This Topic aims to promote interdisciplinary research integrating environmental sciences, veterinary and medical toxicology, and public health under the One Health approach. The collection will highlight studies elucidating how environmental pollutants influence health outcomes across species, biomolecular mechanisms underlying toxicity, and strategies for sustainable mitigation and policy translation. Understanding environmental contamination through the One Health framework is essential for assessing risks that simultaneously affect wildlife, domestic animals, and human populations. Despite increasing awareness, research often remains siloed. This Topic bridges these domains by encouraging transdisciplinary contributions exploring the following: molecular and physiological effects of contaminants in sentinel and model species; biomarkers and early-warning indicators for cross-species health assessment; environmental monitoring and ecological risk modeling aligned with One Health principles; and innovative remediation and prevention strategies informed by integrated risk analysis. By fostering holistic perspectives, this Topic supports the implementation of sustainable environmental policies and health protection strategies that reflect the interconnectedness of all living systems.

Dr. Marika Cordaro
Dr. Davide Di Paola
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Air air	-	-	2023	28 Days	CHF 1000	Submit
Animals animals	3.2	5.5	2011	15.7 Days	CHF 2400	Submit
Antioxidants antioxidants	8.2	14.7	2012	18.7 Days	CHF 2900	Submit
Biology biology	4.3	7.3	2012	14.2 Days	CHF 2700	Submit
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ijerph	-	9.8	2004	24 Days	CHF 2500	Submit
Toxics toxics	4.9	7.8	2013	17 Days	CHF 2600	Submit

Preprints.org is a multidisciplinary platform offering a preprint service designed to facilitate the early sharing of your research. It supports and empowers your research journey from the very beginning.

MDPI Topics is collaborating with Preprints.org and has established a direct connection between MDPI journals and the platform. Authors are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity by posting their preprints at Preprints.org prior to publication:

1. Share your research immediately: disseminate your ideas prior to publication and establish priority for your work.
2. Safeguard your intellectual contribution: Protect your ideas with a time-stamped preprint that serves as proof of your research timeline.
3. Boost visibility and impact: Increase the reach and influence of your research by making it accessible to a global audience.
4. Gain early feedback: Receive valuable input and insights from peers before submitting to a journal.
5. Ensure broad indexing: Web of Science (Preprint Citation Index), Google Scholar, Crossref, SHARE, PrePubMed, Scilit and Europe PMC.

Published Papers (5 papers)

Order results

Content type Publication Date

Result details

Normal Extended Compact

Journals

All Animals Biology IJERPH Toxics Antioxidants Air

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Plain Text BibTeX BibTeX (without abstracts) Endnote Endnote (without abstracts) Tab-delimited RIS

Error

Oops... you haven't selected anything for export.

Ok

clear

21 pages, 473 KB  

Open AccessReview

Mitigating Human–Wild Boar Conflicts: A Review of Integrated Strategies and Future Directions

by Zhiming Xu, Ke Rong and Minghai Zhang

Animals 2026, 16(14), 2142; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16142142 - 10 Jul 2026

Viewed by 905

Abstract

Wild boar populations have expanded globally due to factors such as habitat restoration, climate change, and adjustments in hunting policies. This expansion has led to agricultural losses, threats to public safety, disease transmission, and ecological damage, thereby exacerbating human–animal conflicts. Current strategies for [...] Read more.

Wild boar populations have expanded globally due to factors such as habitat restoration, climate change, and adjustments in hunting policies. This expansion has led to agricultural losses, threats to public safety, disease transmission, and ecological damage, thereby exacerbating human–animal conflicts. Current strategies for mitigating conflicts between wild boars and humans face challenges, including insufficient assessment of long-term control effects and limitations in population dynamics monitoring technologies. This paper reviews mitigation strategies for global wild boar conflicts from ecological, economic, and social perspectives and provides a comprehensive evaluation for their effectiveness. Existing mitigation strategies include population control (hunting management and reproductive regulation), habitat management (landscape barriers and food resource regulation), physical protection (electric fences and multimodal deterrence devices), and community engagement mechanisms (ecological compensation and participatory management). The effectiveness of these strategies varies significantly across regions. Global case studies on human–wild boar conflicts demonstrate that multidimensional collaborative governance has achieved notable success in mitigating these conflicts. For example, dynamic management systems based on intelligent monitoring and community participation can effectively reduce the incidence of wild boar conflicts. Given the limitations of the current single-indicator evaluations, this paper proposes a comprehensive evaluation framework encompassing “strategy effectiveness, cost, and sustainability”. The application of synergistic multi-strategy approaches produces significant synergistic effects, exhibiting nonlinear superposition characteristics. Therefore, future efforts should integrate intelligent early warning systems and policy reforms to develop an adaptive social–ecological coupling framework. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Bridging Ecosystem Contamination and One Health: Integrating Environmental, Animal, and Human Risk Assessment)

►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

attachment

Supplementary material:
Supplementary File 1 (ZIP, 42 KB)

15 pages, 1219 KB  

Open AccessArticle

Shell Metal Profiles of Caspian Bivalves Show Genus-Specific Patterns with Potential Relevance for Biomonitoring in the Southern Caspian Sea

by Shima Bakhshalizadeh, Rafael Mora-Medina and Nahúm Ayala-Soldado

Animals 2026, 16(10), 1491; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16101491 - 13 May 2026

Viewed by 712

Abstract

Bivalves are widely used in aquatic monitoring, but the potential of their shells to provide comparative metal signatures remains insufficiently explored in the Caspian Sea. This study quantified major and trace elements in empty shells of five bivalve genera (Cerastoderma, Didacna [...] Read more.

Bivalves are widely used in aquatic monitoring, but the potential of their shells to provide comparative metal signatures remains insufficiently explored in the Caspian Sea. This study quantified major and trace elements in empty shells of five bivalve genera (Cerastoderma, Didacna, Dreissena, Hypanis, and Mytilaster) collected from a single shell accumulation site on the southern Caspian coast. The aim was to assess intergeneric variability and provide a preliminary comparative framework for shell-based metal profiling. Element concentrations were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and median concentrations, internal residual enrichment factors, relative concentration factors, a relative multielement loading index, and centered log-ratio principal component analysis were applied as within-dataset comparative tools. Significant differences among genera were found for most elements. Dreissena and Cerastoderma showed the highest relative multielement loading, with comparatively elevated values of Cr, Fe, and Hg, whereas Hypanis showed marked element-specific deviations, particularly for Cu and Co. In contrast, Mytilaster and Didacna generally showed lower overall relative loading, although Mytilaster also displayed a strong Co-specific pattern. PCA-clr analysis showed structured genus-related separation based on multielement shell composition, with contrasting associations among Al, As, Cr, Fe, Co, Cu, Hg, and carbonate- or shell-associated elements such as Ba, Mg, Sr, Ti, and Zn. Overall, the results indicate that Caspian bivalve shells display distinct genus-related multielement profiles. Within the limitations of a single-site shell-accumulation dataset and the absence of paired environmental, tissue, mineralogical, and microstructural data, these findings should be interpreted as a preliminary comparative assessment rather than as evidence of environmental contamination or validated bioindicator performance. The results identify genera and elements that may deserve priority in future shell-based biomonitoring studies after validation with living populations, broader spatial replication, and paired sediment, water, particulate, and soft-tissue data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Bridging Ecosystem Contamination and One Health: Integrating Environmental, Animal, and Human Risk Assessment)

►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

20 pages, 3482 KB  

Open AccessArticle

Rosmarinic Acid Ameliorates PM_2.5-Induced Alterations in Gut Microbiota and Intestinal Inflammation in Broilers

by Ying Zhou, Bin Xu, Wen Deng, Linyi Wang and Shaoyu Li

Animals 2026, 16(10), 1428; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16101428 - 7 May 2026

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 984

Abstract

(1) Airborne fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) poses a growing threat to poultry production by impairing intestinal health, disturbing microbial balance, and reducing growth performance. Rosmarinic acid (RA), a natural polyphenol with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and gut microbiota-regulating properties, can effectively maintain intestinal [...] Read more.

(1) Airborne fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) poses a growing threat to poultry production by impairing intestinal health, disturbing microbial balance, and reducing growth performance. Rosmarinic acid (RA), a natural polyphenol with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and gut microbiota-regulating properties, can effectively maintain intestinal homeostasis. To date, its protective effects against PM_2.5-induced intestinal injury in broilers remain largely unclear. This study investigated whether dietary RA supplementation mitigates intestinal damage and microbiota dysbiosis caused by PM_2.5 in broilers and explored the related mechanisms. (2) A total of 144 21-day-old broilers were randomly allocated to three groups, control (CON), PM_2.5 exposure (PM), and PM_2.5 exposure plus rosmarinic acid (RA), with six replicates of eight broilers each. (3) Results indicated that PM_2.5 exposure severely impaired growth performance, whereas dietary RA significantly increased average daily feed intake and average daily gain, decreased the feed-to-gain ratio, and elevated final body weight in broilers. RA significantly attenuated PM_2.5-induced intestinal inflammation, as evidenced by reduced expression of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IFN-γ) and downregulation of key components in the TLR4 signaling pathway (TLR4, MyD88, and NF-κB). Inhaled PM_2.5 exposure impaired the intestinal epithelial barrier, marked by decreased mRNA levels of MUC2 and CLDN1 and increased caspase3 expression. Dietary RA treatment effectively restored these indicators, suggesting its role in maintaining epithelial integrity. Furthermore, RA reshaped the gut microbiota structure, altering both α- and β-diversity. Notably, RA led to a higher proportion of potentially health-promoting bacterial taxa, including Lactobacillus, V9D2013_group, and Oscillospirales, while reducing opportunistic pathogens like Shuttleworthia. (4) In conclusion, RA alleviates PM_2.5-induced intestinal inflammation, reinforces the epithelial barrier, and modulates the intestinal microbiota in broilers, likely through inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling. These findings reveal a novel mechanism by which RA mitigates pollutant-induced intestinal injury via gut microbiota modulation and TLR4/NF-κB suppression, offering new insights into the gut–lung axis in avian species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Bridging Ecosystem Contamination and One Health: Integrating Environmental, Animal, and Human Risk Assessment)

►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

attachment

Supplementary material:
Supplementary File 1 (ZIP, 5093 KB)

17 pages, 2959 KB  

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Sublethal Clothianidin Exposure Impairs Development, Thyroid Hormones, Locomotion and Predation in Fejervarya cancrivora from Rice Paddy Ecosystems

by Joko Pilianto, Amr Abou El-Ela, Asim Munawar, Xiangfen Zhang, Dun Wang, Abid Ali Soomro, Naved A. Ansari, Wenwu Zhou and Zengrong Zhu

Toxics 2026, 14(3), 243; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics14030243 - 11 Mar 2026

Viewed by 4274

Abstract

Clothianidin (CLO) is a widely used neonicotinoid insecticide in agricultural systems and may pose risks to non-target aquatic organisms, including amphibians. Here, we evaluated acute and sublethal effects of CLO on Fejervarya cancrivora tadpoles, an important predator of insect pests in rice paddy [...] Read more.

Clothianidin (CLO) is a widely used neonicotinoid insecticide in agricultural systems and may pose risks to non-target aquatic organisms, including amphibians. Here, we evaluated acute and sublethal effects of CLO on Fejervarya cancrivora tadpoles, an important predator of insect pests in rice paddy ecosystems. Acute toxicity tests (96 h) yielded an LC₅₀ of 50.41 mg a.i./L (with LC₁₀, LC₂₅ and LC₃₀ values of 15.35, 31.96 and 36.07 mg a.i./L, respectively). Sublethal exposure at these concentrations significantly reduced body weight, whole-body length, and hindlimb length during metamorphosis. CLO also altered thyroid hormone regulation, with T4 showing a dose-dependent increase, while T3 was elevated relative to controls but showed comparatively limited additional sensitivity to concentration and exposure duration. Locomotor activity was impaired under sublethal CLO exposure, reflected by reduced swimming distance and speed. In addition, frogs that developed from CLO-exposed tadpoles exhibited decreased feeding efficiency on brown planthoppers (Nilaparvata lugens) across developmental stages 46–48. Together, these findings demonstrate that CLO can affect amphibian development, endocrine regulation, and behavior at sublethal levels, highlighting the need to incorporate sublethal endpoints into ecological risk assessment and to promote pest management strategies that reduce impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Bridging Ecosystem Contamination and One Health: Integrating Environmental, Animal, and Human Risk Assessment)

►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

attachment

Supplementary material:
Supplementary File 1 (ZIP, 134 KB)

15 pages, 2138 KB  

Open AccessArticle

Microplastics in Sediments Originating from Abandoned, Lost or Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) in Coastal Areas of the Valencian Community

by Laura Romeo, Anna Perdichizzi, Adriana Profeta, Dyana Vitale, Vicente Castañer Franch, Marco Casu and Andrea Spinelli

Biology 2026, 15(4), 300; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology15040300 - 9 Feb 2026

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1309

Abstract

The increasing presence of abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) on the seafloor is a major source of microplastics (MPs) pollution in coastal ecosystems. This study assessed the concentration, morphology, and chemical composition of MPs in surface sediments collected from Alicante and [...] Read more.

The increasing presence of abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) on the seafloor is a major source of microplastics (MPs) pollution in coastal ecosystems. This study assessed the concentration, morphology, and chemical composition of MPs in surface sediments collected from Alicante and Benidorm, in the Valencian Community, eastern coast of Spain, Mediterranean Sea. Impacted sites with fishing nets were compared to control sites without nets. Two analytical techniques were used for polymer identification, depending on particle size: micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (µFTIR) and Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR). The results showed significantly higher MPs concentrations in sites affected by ALDFG. The findings highlight a clear link between the presence of fishing nets and MPs accumulation in sediments. This underlines the urgent need for mitigation strategies and recovery of discarded fishing gear. This study addresses a gap in the literature regarding MPs contamination on rocky coastal substrates and calls for further research to assess the long-term ecotoxicological impacts on marine ecosystems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Bridging Ecosystem Contamination and One Health: Integrating Environmental, Animal, and Human Risk Assessment)

►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Plain Text BibTeX BibTeX (without abstracts) Endnote Endnote (without abstracts) Tab-delimited RIS

 

Error

Oops... you haven't selected anything for export.

Ok

clear

Displaying articles 1-5