The DOI matches its Crossref record; 83 of the 84 references it cites were found in a registry or an index, and 1 are not checked yet.
Plastic contamination of a Galapagos Island (Ecuador) and the relative risks to native marine species
Open accessAbstract
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, investigated uptake in marine invertebrates and designed a systematic priority scoring analysis to identify the most vulnerable vertebrate species. Beach contamination varied by site (macroplastic 0–0.66 items·m−2, microplastics 0–448.8 particles·m−2 or 0–74.6 particles·kg−1), with high plastic accumulation on east-facing beaches that are influenced by the Humboldt Current. Local littering and waste management leakages accounted for just 2% of macroplastic. Microplastics (including anthropogenic cellulosics) were ubiquitous but in low concentrations in benthic sediments (6.7–86.7 particles·kg−1) and surface seawater (0.04–0.89 particles·m−3), with elevated concentrations in the harbour suggesting some local input. Microplastics were present in all seven marine invertebrate species examined, found in 52% of individuals (n = 123) confirming uptake of microplastics in the Galapagos marine food web. Priority scoring analysis combining species distribution information, IUCN Red List conservation status and literature evidence of harm from entanglement and ingestion of plastics in similar species identified 27 marine vertebrates in need of urgent, targeted monitoring and mitigation including pinnipeds, seabirds, turtles and sharks.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Recent studies have highlighted presence of microplastics in the archipelago [44, 45]”
From Modelling microplastic bioaccumulation and biomagnification potential in the Galápagos penguin ecosystem using Ecopath and Ecosim (EwE) with Ecotracer (2024) · cites this paper as [44]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“This species faces several challenges from intense El Niño events and ocean warming [48, 49] to ocean plastics [44].”
From Modelling microplastic bioaccumulation and biomagnification potential in the Galápagos penguin ecosystem using Ecopath and Ecosim (EwE) with Ecotracer (2024) · cites this paper as [44]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing
R Core Team (2000) · doi:10.32614/r.manuals · Cited by 355,893
Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean
Jambeck, J. R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T. R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., Narayan, R., & Law, K. L. (2015) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1260352 · Cited by 13,163
Microplastics in the marine environment
Andrady, A. L. (2011) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.05.030 · Cited by 8,105
Hidalgo-Ruz, V., Gutow, L., Thompson, R. C., & Thiel, M. (2012) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es2031505 · Cited by 5,440
Hartmann, N. B., Hüffer, T., Thompson, R. C., Hassellöv, M., Verschoor, A., Daugaard, A. E., Rist, S., Karlsson, T., Brennholt, N., Cole, M., et al. (2019) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.8b05297 · Cited by 2,881
Interactions of microplastic debris throughout the marine ecosystem
Galloway, T. S., Cole, M., & Lewis, C. (2017) · Nature Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0116 · Cited by 1,955
Self-citationEvaluating scenarios toward zero plastic pollution
Lau, W. W. Y., Shiran, Y., Bailey, R. M., Cook, E., Stuchtey, M. R., Koskella, J., Velis, C. A., Godfrey, L., Boucher, J., Murphy, M. B., et al. (2020) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aba9475 · Cited by 1,766
Borja, Á., Franco, J., & Perez, V. B. (2000) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/s0025-326x(00)00061-8 · Cited by 1,721
Global ecological, social and economic impacts of marine plastic
Beaumont, N., Aanesen, M., Austen, M. C., Börger, T., Clark, J. R., Cole, M., Hooper, T. L., Lindeque, P. K., Pascoe, C. K., & Wyles, K. J. (2019) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.03.022 · Cited by 1,090
Isolation of microplastics in biota-rich seawater samples and marine organisms
Cole, M., Webb, H., Lindeque, P. K., Fileman, E. S., Halsband, C., & Galloway, T. S. (2014) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep04528 · Cited by 1,074
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Edgar, 2004, Regional biogeography of shallow reef fish and macro-invertebrate communities in the Galapagos archipelago, J. Biogeogr., 31, 1107, 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2004.01055.x · DOI
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–118 of 118
Schofield, J. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780192844880.003.0001
Some Questions for Book-group Discussions, Essays, and Examinations
Schofield, J. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780192844880.002.0008
Marco normativo para la protección eficaz del derecho al agua: estudio del río Anzu.
Chango, M. J. B., Meza, M. A. D. L. R., & Cárdenas, L. M. F. (2024) · Dilemas contemporáneos Educación Política y Valores · doi:10.46377/dilemas.v12i1.4355
Kassab, R., & Sadeghian, P. (2024) · Lecture notes in civil engineering · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-61531-3_31
Impacts of macroplastic and microplastic on the biology and ecology of marine megafauna
Smith, C. E., Skehel, A., Acampora, H., Alarcón‐Ruales, D., Milburn, J., Muñoz‐Pérez, J. P., Roman, L., Schuyler, Q. A., & Townsend, K. A. (2025) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-822324-6.00004-9
Vertical profiles of microplastics in coastal sediments of Panjang Island, Java Sea
Utami, D. A., Solihuddin, T., Sibert, E. C., Cohen, A., & Cahyarini, S. Y. (2025) · Regional Studies in Marine Science · doi:10.1016/j.rsma.2025.104518 · Cited by 3
Jaraba, D. C. M., Ríos‒Reyes, C. A., & Castellanos-Alarcón, Ó. M. (2026) · Luna Azul · doi:10.17151/luaz.2025.61.16
McIntosh, R. R., Raum‐Suryan, K. L., Zahniser, D., de la Cruz, D. B., Boren, L. J., Geut, M. I. M., Philipp, C., Hogan, E., Jarvis, D., Johnson, S., et al. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.6183317
Cisneros-Bejarano, F., Muñoz‐Pérez, J. P., Alarcón‐Ruales, D., Moreira‐Mendieta, A., Lewbart, G. A., Houck, E. L., Tucker‐Retter, E. K., Nease, G., Mones, A. B., Trilla-Prieto, N., et al. (2026) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2026.119688
McIntosh, R. R., Raum‐Suryan, K. L., Zahniser, D., de la Cruz, D. B., Boren, L. J., Geut, M. I. M., Philipp, C., Hogan, E., Jarvis, D., Johnson, S., et al. (2026) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2026.119801
Hill, N., Santana, M., Hovey, R., Motti, C. A., Serra-Gonçalves, C., Yau, G. D., Jaworski, S., & Galaiduk, R. (2026) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2026.120326
Am-Shalom, M., Kanfy-Weinberger, R., Kramarsky‐Winter, E., Kushmaro, A., Alegría, C., Vaca, G., Pazmiño, D. A., Muñoz‐Pérez, J. P., Yépez, M., & Ochoa‐Herrera, V. (2026) · Regional Studies in Marine Science · doi:10.1016/j.rsma.2026.105101
Vallejo, F., Yánez, D., Molina, L., Pino‐Cortés, E., Pérez, A. T. E., & Espinoza-Pérez, L. (2026) · Microplastics · doi:10.3390/microplastics5020117
“Repeated PET bottled water consumption [96] and shellfish from MP-rich estuaries [10] provide overlapping particle streams that sustain dysbiotic states by preventing microbiome recovery.”
Flor, D., Baquero, A. O., Pinheiro, L. M., Lewis, C. N., Lindeque, P. K., Praet, E., Zambrano, R., Aguirre-Sanchez, A., Charnley, F., Jones, J., et al. (2026) · Resources Conservation & Recycling Advances · doi:10.1016/j.rcradv.2026.200378
Self-citationBarros-Enríquez, J. D., Naranjo-Silva, S., Amaya-Jaramillo, C. D., Gualotuña, M. S. S., Manosalvas, J. J. A., & Gunsha-Morales, A. (2026) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su18168468
Characterization and quantification of microplastics in marine sediments of the Colombian Caribbean
-Rodríguez, L. G., Tigreros-Benavides, P., Ochoa-Mogollón, J. D., Villarraga, G. H., Sarmiento-Sánchez, C., Polania-Zenner, P., Rozo-Torres, G., Sanjuan-Muñoz, A., & Franco-Herrera, A. (2026) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.21127
“Particle concentration was greater in the Magdalena environments, which is affected permanently by the river after which it is named and its riverine settlements (lagoonal), and important tourist centers because of their beaches such as El Rodadero and Santa Marta (marine-coastal), with the result…”
Evidence of Selective Response in the Free-Breeding Dog Population in Chornobyl
Dillon, M. N., Roberts, R. B., Betz, J. A., Mousseau, T. A., Kleiman, N. J., & Breen, M. (2026) · Genes · doi:10.3390/genes17101195
Cuenca-Castillo, M. N., Arévalo, P., Guamán, L. P., Akhrimenko, V., Lertxundi, U., & Orive, G. (2026) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-11243157/v1
Metadata
- Authors
- Jones, J. S., Porter, A., Muñoz-Pérez, J. P., Alarcón-Ruales, D., Galloway, T. S., Godley, B. J., Santillo, D., Vagg, J., & Lewis, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Exeter (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Lewis, Ceri
- Venue
- Science of The Total Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-10
- Volume
- 789
- Pages
- 147704
- ISSN
- 0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3161752573
- Cited by
- 118
- References
- 84
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 6
- FWCI
- 4.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Open Research Exeter (University of Exeter) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Greater South Information System
- Funders
- Royal Geographical Society
- Natural Environment Research Council
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Turtle Biology and Conservation
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Coastal Fisheries and Human Impacts
- Keywords
- plastic pollution, microplastics, macroplastics, Galápagos Islands, marine invertebrates, plastic ingestion, entanglement, Humboldt Current, beach litter, benthic sediments, marine food webs, marine vertebrates, pinnipeds, seabirds, sea turtles, sharks, marine conservation
- MeSH terms
- Ecuador, Environmental Monitoring, Plastics, Risk, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Ecosystem
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
