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Biofilm Development on Macroplastics along a Freshwater-Estuarine Gradient with Attention to Diatom Assemblages
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This study examined biofilm development on polypropylene, PET, and polystyrene plastic coupons incubated in the River Great Ouse, UK at sites with increasing salinity, finding that sampling site was the most determinant factor for biofilm abundance rather than plastic type or time. Diatom assemblages showed no plastic-specific or site-specific communities, highlighting the stochastic nature of biofilm colonization on plastics in dynamic freshwater-estuarine environments.
Plastic pollution poses a significant and persistent threat to the health and functioning of aquatic ecosystems worldwide. The development of microbial communities on freshwater macroplastics can affect nutrient cycling and facilitate biotic dispersal, while characterization of biofilm assemblages can inform on residency time, pathways, and accumulation patterns of aquatic plastics. Polypropylene, poly(ethylene terephthalate), and polystyrene coupons were incubated in the River Great Ouse, UK for 21 days at locations with increasing salinity. Biofilm abundance was quantified using crystal violet staining and spectrophotometry, and community composition was characterized through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image analysis. Here, we show how time, plastic type, and site impact biofilm development and composition, with special attention to diatoms, on aquatic plastics. Site was the most determinant factor for biofilm abundance. However, we found no plastic-specific or site-specific assemblages of biofilm diatom communities. This study highlights the stochastic nature of biofilm development on plastics in freshwater-estuarine systems as well as the factors that must be considered in dynamic aquatic environments, such as hydrological conditions of the site, that challenge simple community development models that have been used for marine environments.
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