Microplastic (MP) pollution in freshwater ecosystems is a growing global concern, yet long-term data tracking its historical progression remains scarce. This study provides a retrospective analysis of MP ingestion in 12 Barbus species collected from five major hydrological basins in Türkiye between 2004 and 2018. A total of 373 collection specimens were examined to quantify MP abundance, characterize polymer types using attenu...

Assessment of 154 white bream Blicca bjoerkna specimens collected between 1963 and 2004 from Manyas and Uluabat lake, northwest Türkiye, revealed that only 3.2% of fish were contaminated with microplastics, with a mean incidence and standard error of 0.04 ± 0.02 particles. Black fibres and white fragments were spectroscopically confirmed as polyamide and polyethylene terephthalate. Contamination status (contaminated/uncontamin...