Bibliometric Profile of Global Scientific Research on Monitoring and Assessment of Aquatic Toxicology (2015-2019)

Abstract

In recent decades, extensive research has been conducted to explore toxicity in the aquatic environment. In spite of the extensive research conducted on toxicity in the aquatic environment, there is a need for a comprehensive analysis that integrates various aspects of the research landscape. This study focused on: i) providing characteristics of research areas of publications, ii) assessing productive countries and institutions, iii) identifying research topics based on certain keywords and defining research hotspots, and iv) assisting in the perspective of current hot topics, future trends, and challenges. A systematic review and analysis of studies on natural water and wastewater toxicology from the Scopus database were conducted, covering the period from 2015 to 2019. This study presents a temporal distribution of publications considering several factors, such as materials, types of toxicity, test organisms, journals, and country. By conducting a comprehensive search on Scopus, our study identified a total of 7,043 articles on acute (62%) and chronic toxicity (38%). Freshwater environments accounted for the majority of acute and chronic toxicity studies, while studies on wastewater environments were relatively scarce. Daphnia magna emerged as the most used organism, representing 41% of acute toxicity studies and 27% of chronic toxicity studies. The results show that China is the most productive country with 330 articles. The study has made it possible to visualise an effective contribution to science by filling the existing gaps. It has provided some perspectives and insights for the development of further research on this topic.