Abstract
Emerging contaminants (ECs) are gaining global attention owing to their widespread presence and adverse effects on human health. ECs comprise numerous composite types and pose a potential threat to the growth and functional traits of species and ecosystems. Although the occurrence and fate of ECs has been extensively studied, little is known about their long-term biological effects. This review attempts to gain insights into the unhindered connections and overlaps in aquatic ecosystems. Microplastics (MPs), one of the most representative ECs, are carriers of other pollutants because of their strong adsorption capacity. They form a complex of pollutants that can be transmitted to aquatic organisms and humans through the extended food chain, increasing the concentration of pollutants by tens of thousands of times. Adsorption, interaction and transport effects of emerging contaminants in the aquatic environment are also discussed. Furthermore, the current state of knowledge on the ecotoxicity of single- and two-pollutant models is presented. Herein, we discuss how aquatic organisms within complex food networks may be particularly vulnerable to harm from ECs in the presence of perturbations. This review provides an advanced understanding of the interactions and potential toxic effects of ECs on aquatic organisms.
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The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC3201504) “Watershed non-point source pollution prevention and control technology and application demonstration”.
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National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC3201504) “Watershed non-point source pollution prevention and control technology and application demonstration”.
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Heran Zhang and Nan Shen collected and analyzed data and wrote the manuscript; Peng Yuan modified the manuscript and improved the language of the manuscript; Yafeng Li and Cheng Hu analyzed the data. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Highlights
• Emerging contaminants (ECs) are ubiquitous and have complex forms of presence in natural water
• Organisms can be exposed to different types of ECs in a variety of ways and pathways
• The combined toxicity of ECs usually exhibits greater harm to aquatic organism
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Zhang, H., Shen, N., Li, Y. et al. Source, transport, and toxicity of emerging contaminants in aquatic environments: A review on recent studies. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 121420–121437 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30869-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30869-y