Quantifying the Impacts of Plastic Pollution on Animals: A Systematic Map of Meta-Analyses – PROTOCOL

This study aims to develop a systematic map of published meta-analyses that quantitatively assess the effects of plastic pollution on animals. With global plastic production constantly increasing, there has been also increase in research efforts on overall effects plastic pollution present in environment has on living organisms. While numerous primary studies and also syntheses like meta-analyses have examined the biological impacts of plastic exposure, there is currently no comprehensive overview of what has been synthesized, which taxa and environments have been covered, and where evidence gaps remain. Our systematic map will identify, catalogue, and classify existing meta-analyses addressing the physical, chemical, and behavioral effects of macro-, micro-, and nanoplastics on animals. In addition, bibliometric analysis will characterize research trends, geographic and institutional distributions, collaboration networks, and thematic structures within the body of synthesized literature.