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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Environmental conditions affect the food quality of plastic associated biofilms for the benthic grazer Physa fontinalis
ClearA domesticated photoautotrophic microbial community as a biofilm model system for analyzing the influence of plastic surfaces on invertebrate grazers in limnic environments
Researchers developed a domesticated photoautotrophic microbial community as a biofilm model system to analyse how plastic surfaces influence invertebrate grazers in freshwater environments. The study found that biofilms growing on plastic substrates affected grazer behaviour and feeding differently than biofilms on natural surfaces, with implications for understanding how plastic pollution disrupts limnic food web interactions.
Fate and effects of microplastic particles in a periphyton-grazer system
This study examined how microplastic particles interact with periphyton, the biofilm communities coating underwater surfaces, and whether plastics transfer to grazing snails that feed on them. Researchers found that microplastics accumulated in periphyton and were then consumed by the freshwater snail Physa acuta, demonstrating a pathway for plastics to move through the aquatic food web from biofilms to animals.
Plastic habitats: Algal biofilms on photic and aphotic plastics
Researchers tracked algae colonizing plastic surfaces in a freshwater reservoir over six weeks, finding that different plastic types developed distinct algae communities and that plastic surfaces showed early signs of degradation — suggesting that biofouling may accelerate microplastic fragmentation in freshwater systems.
Impacts of plastic surface on the periphyton under different nutrient and temperature: A mesocosm experiment
This mesocosm experiment investigated how microplastics affect periphyton (biofilm communities that grow on surfaces in water) under different nutrient levels and temperatures. Microplastics altered periphyton development in ways that could affect oxygen production and the feeding of organisms that graze on biofilm, with potential ripple effects throughout aquatic food webs.
Effects of plastisphere on phosphorus availability in freshwater system: Critical roles of polymer type and colonizing habitat
This study examined how biofilm-covered microplastics of different polymer types affect phosphorus availability in freshwater, finding that polymer type and colonization habitat determined whether plastisphere biofilms acted as phosphorus sources or sinks, with implications for nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems.
The impacts of polystyrene microplastics on development, energy transfer and nutrient cycling of biofilms: A comprehensive chronic toxicity study
A chronic toxicity study found that polystyrene microplastics inhibited freshwater biofilm development, reducing biomass, photosynthetic activity, and nutrient cycling rates, with effects increasing with MP concentration over the 60-day exposure period.
Microalgae colonization of different microplastic polymers in experimental mesocosms across an environmental gradient
Microalgal colonization of five different microplastic polymer types was monitored in freshwater mesocosms across an environmental gradient, finding that polymer type, surface properties, and environmental conditions all influenced the biomass and community composition of epiplastic microalgal biofilms.
Microplastic pollution in aquatic environments may facilitate misfeeding by fish
Researchers found that biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces in freshwater environments facilitates fish misidentification of plastics as food, with the probability of capture increasing significantly as biofilm aging progressed over weeks.
Unraveling Microplastic-Biofilm Nexus in Aquaculture: Diversity and Functionality of Microbial Communities and Their Effect on Plastic Traits
Researchers incubated five common types of microplastics in an aquaculture pond for 128 days and found that biofilm formation varied significantly depending on the plastic type, with polypropylene and polyethylene supporting the richest microbial communities. PET microplastics attracted more plastic-degrading bacteria like Pseudomonas, while all plastic types enriched potentially pathogenic microorganisms. The findings highlight how different microplastics selectively shape microbial colonization in aquaculture environments, with implications for both environmental health and food safety.
Seasonal biofilm formation on floating microplastics in coastal waters of intensified marinculture area
Researchers investigated seasonal biofilm formation on floating polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics in four coastal mariculture zones in southeast China, finding that biofilm bacterial community composition differed less between winter and summer than the surrounding planktonic bacteria. The results suggest biofilms on microplastics provide a buffering microenvironment that stabilizes bacterial communities across seasons.
Structural Diversity in Early-Stage Biofilm Formation on Microplastics Depends on Environmental Medium and Polymer Properties
This study examined the early stages of bacterial biofilm formation on different types of plastic surfaces in different environmental media, finding that both the growth medium and the polymer type influenced which microbial communities colonized the plastic. These plastic-associated biofilms (the plastisphere) can make microplastics more appealing to filter-feeding organisms that mistake them for food.
Distinct microbial metabolic activities of biofilms colonizing microplastics in three freshwater ecosystems
Biofilms growing on microplastics in three freshwater ecosystems showed distinct patterns of carbon metabolism compared to biofilms on glass, with PET-colonizing biofilms showing lower metabolic diversity. Environmental factors like nutrient levels and turbidity also shaped biofilm function, suggesting microplastics alter microbial-mediated carbon cycling in rivers and lakes.
Comparing effects of microplastic exposure, FPOM resource quality, and consumer density on the response of a freshwater particle feeder and associated ecosystem processes
Researchers found that realistic microplastic concentrations had minimal direct effects on freshwater particle feeders compared to the much stronger influences of food resource quality and consumer density on growth, survival, and ecosystem processes in stream microcosms.
The effects of metals and polymer types on the development of biofilm on microplastic surface
Researchers investigated biofilm formation on three types of microplastics — PVC, polystyrene, and polyethylene — in the presence of three metals (lead, chromium, cadmium) in freshwater over six weeks, measuring biofilm mass, extracellular polymeric substances, and chlorophyll-a content at weeks one and six. They found that polymer type was the dominant factor influencing biofilm development, with nearly 50% of variation in biofilm characteristics attributable to the specific plastic substrate rather than the metal contaminants present.
Spatial and seasonal variation in diversity and structure of microbial biofilms on marine plastics in Northern European waters
Researchers investigated how microbial biofilm communities on marine plastics vary by season, location, and plastic type in Northern European waters. The study found distinct spatial and seasonal patterns in plastisphere microbial communities on polyethylene terephthalate surfaces, providing insights into how plastic debris develops unique biological communities in marine environments.
Presence of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers in hyporheic zone alters colonization patterns and seasonal dynamics of biofilm metabolic functioning
PET microfibers added to stream mesocosms colonized by biofilms altered microbial community composition and reduced ecosystem metabolic rates during summer but not winter, with effects dependent on seasonal temperature and biofilm maturity, demonstrating that microplastic fiber impacts on stream biogeochemistry are temporally variable.
The Effect of Microplastics on Microbial Succession at Impaired and Unimpaired Sites in a Riverine System
Researchers compared microbial biofilm diversity on microplastic polymers and natural substrates at impaired and unimpaired riverine sites, examining how environmental nutrient loads, seasonality, and geography influence microbiome succession on plastic surfaces in freshwater ecosystems.
Structural and Functional Characteristics of Microplastic Associated Biofilms in Response to Temporal Dynamics and Polymer Types
Researchers found that biofilm structural and functional characteristics on microplastics differ significantly depending on polymer type (polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene) and change over time, with implications for understanding microbial colonization and the plastisphere.
Distinct community structure and microbial functions of biofilms colonizing microplastics
Biofilm communities were established on polyethylene, polypropylene, cobblestone, and wood substrates over 21 days under controlled conditions and compared by 16S rRNA sequencing, finding that plastic substrates harbored distinct microbial communities and functional profiles compared to natural materials. The study demonstrates that microplastics in freshwater environments provide a selective niche that enriches for distinct microbial taxa and metabolic functions.
Polymer Matters: Substrate-Specific Plastic Biofilms in Glacial Melt Host Bacteria Linked to Polymer Degradation
Researchers conducted a 10-week in situ incubation experiment in a proglacial lake, finding that polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET substrates each develop distinct polymer-specific biofilm communities enriched with known plastic-degrading bacteria, with community structure shaped by dissolved carbon, phosphorus, time, and material type.
Assessment of Biofilm Growth on Microplastics in Freshwaters Using a Passive Flow-Through System
Researchers developed a laboratory flow-through system to study how biofilms grow on microplastics under controlled freshwater conditions. They found that biofilm formation varied depending on the polymer type, water temperature, and nutrient levels, with warmer and more nutrient-rich conditions promoting faster colonization. The study provides a standardized method for assessing how microplastics in freshwater systems become platforms for microbial communities that could include harmful organisms.
No trophy for the trophy? - How lake trophy impacts bacterial assemblages of biofilm on microplastic
A field experiment incubating microplastics in five lakes with different nutrient levels (trophy) found that bacterial biofilm composition on MPs was dominated by Proteobacteria and differed significantly from free-water communities, but lake trophy had limited influence on overall biofilm diversity. This suggests that plastic surfaces create a distinct microbial niche independent of the surrounding water quality, with implications for how plastic-associated bacteria spread through freshwater ecosystems.
The plastic Trojan horse: Biofilms increase microplastic uptake in marine filter feeders impacting microbial transfer and organism health
Researchers found that microplastics colonized by microbial biofilms, which better represent environmental conditions, are ingested at higher rates by marine filter feeders than clean, virgin microbeads typically used in laboratory studies. The biofilm coating also introduced potentially harmful bacteria into the organisms that consumed them. The study suggests that previous research using pristine microplastics may have underestimated both the uptake rate and biological risks of microplastic ingestion in marine ecosystems.
Community Composition and Seasonal Dynamics of Microplastic Biota in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
Researchers described the seasonal dynamics and community composition of microplastic-associated microbial communities across different environments, finding that temperature and nutrient availability influenced plastisphere diversity. The study contributes to understanding how environmental conditions shape biofilm formation on plastic debris.