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Microplastics as Ecological Infrastructure: A Systems Perspective on Microbial Connectivity, Carbon Cycling, and Ecosystem Resilience
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Tiny bits of plastic floating in oceans and rivers aren't just pollution, they act like little rafts that carry entire communities of microbes (bacteria and other tiny organisms) to new places, potentially spreading them across ecosystems that would otherwise stay separate. This review paper argues that scientists should think of microplastics as a kind of infrastructure that can affect big-picture processes like carbon cycling and ecosystem health, though these ideas are still theoretical and need to be tested. While this research focuses on environmental impacts rather than direct human health effects, it matters because healthy oceans and rivers, and the microb
Microplastics are increasingly recognized not only as persistent pollutants but also as novel microbial habitats capable of influencing ecological processes across aquatic ecosystems. Although the plastisphere has been extensively described, its broader ecological significance remains poorly integrated within ecosystem theory. Here, we propose the Ecological Infrastructure Framework (EIF), in which colonized microplastics function as persistent mobile substrates that simultaneously provide habitat, maintain biological organization, connect previously isolated ecosystems and redistribute microbial communities together with their associated ecological functions. Within this framework, eco-corona formation, microbial succession and environmental selection act as hierarchical ecological filters that shape plastisphere assembly throughout transport. We further introduce the concept of ecological filter compression, whereby persistent mobile substrates simultaneously relax geographic dispersal barriers while strengthening deterministic ecological selection, promoting the dispersal of metabolically organized biofilm communities rather than isolated microbial cells. Extending this perspective beyond community ecology, we discuss how the redistribution of microbial functional potential may influence carbon cycling and ecosystem resilience through changes in microbial connectivity. By integrating eco-corona formation, ecological filtering, microbial succession, metacommunity theory and ecosystem functioning into a unified systems perspective, this review redefines the ecological role of colonized microplastics and generates explicit, testable predictions regarding microbial connectivity, biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem resilience.
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Microplastics as Ecological Infrastructure: A Review from a Systems Perspective on Microbial Connectivity, Carbon Cycling, and Ecosystem Resilience
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This review paper proposes a new framework for thinking about tiny floating plastic pieces in water as surfaces that carry microbes from place to place. It suggests these microbial communities could affect carbon cycling and ecosystem stability, but notes these ideas are hypotheses that still need direct testing, not confirmed findings.
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Tiny plastic particles called microplastics have worked their way into soil, water, air, plants, animals, and eventually our bodies, and scientists still aren't sure exactly what long-term harm this causes to our health. This review pulls together existing research on how microplastics move through ecosystems and accumulate in living things, while also highlighting promising cleanup methods—but it stresses that more research is urgently needed to fully understand the risks and find better solutions.
The impact of microplastics on small organism dispersal: mechanisms, risks, and research gaps
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This review examines how microplastics may influence the dispersal of small organisms, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and insects, by serving as physical carriers across ecosystems. Researchers describe how biofilms that form on microplastic surfaces can harbor and transport pathogenic microorganisms to new locations. The study identifies this as an underexplored area with significant implications for disease ecology and biosecurity.
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