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Cyanobacterial relative enrichment over diatoms: Differential responses of plankton to microplastic pollution in the Zhanghe River, Northern China
Summary
Researchers assessed microplastic pollution and its ecological impacts on plankton communities in the Zhanghe River, China, finding that fibrous polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyamide MPs increased from upstream to downstream and were significantly associated with cyanobacterial proliferation while inhibiting diatoms, with a synergistic interaction with total phosphorus potentially amplifying eutrophication risk.
This study systematically investigated the characteristics and ecological risks of microplastic pollution in the Handan section of the Zhanghe River during the rainy season, as well as its impacts on plankton. Microplastic abundance during the dry season was also measured (no plankton monitoring was conducted in the dry season). The results showed that microplastic abundance in both seasons exhibited an increasing trend from upstream to downstream, with significantly higher levels during the rainy season (1,200-11,000 n/m) compared to the dry season (600-7,200 n/m). Fibrous microplastics were the dominant form, and the main polymer types were polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyamide (PA). Ecological risk assessments estimated that downstream sites exhibited moderate to high ecological risks, primarily attributable to the enrichment of polymers such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyurethane (PU). Plankton showed differential responses to microplastics: cyanobacterial abundance was significantly positively correlated with microplastic levels (r = 0.49, p < 0.05), while diatoms were inhibited. Zooplankton were dominated by rotifers, whose density fluctuated significantly in areas with high microplastic concentrations. Furthermore, a synergistic effect was observed between microplastics and total phosphorus (TP), potentially exacerbating water eutrophication. This study confirms that microplastics exert differential impacts on various plankton groups and that nutrient enrichment can amplify their ecological risks, providing a scientific basis for microplastic pollution control in river basins.