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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Calcium carbonate deposits and microbial assemblages on microplastics in oligotrophic freshwaters
ClearBiocalcificationInduces the Preferential Settlingof Small Buoyant Microplastics in Freshwater
Researchers found that biocalcification processes involving Microcystis aeruginosa and calcium ions promote the preferential settling of small buoyant microplastics in freshwater, with incubation experiments revealing how algal-induced mineral precipitation accelerates vertical transport of particles that would otherwise remain suspended.
Impacts of Biofilm Formation on the Fate and Potential Effects of Microplastic in the Aquatic Environment
Researchers reviewed how biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces affects the fate and potential ecological effects of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that biofilms alter particle buoyancy, surface chemistry, and interactions with organisms.
Heterogeneous aggregation of microplastics and mineral particles in aquatic environments: Effects of surface functional groups, pH, and electrolytes
Researchers studied how microplastics clump together with soil and rock minerals in water, finding that positively charged minerals bound to plastic particles nearly three times more effectively than clay minerals, and that low pH and calcium ions dramatically accelerated aggregation. Understanding these dynamics helps predict where microplastics will settle or stay suspended in rivers, lakes, and aquifers.
Impact of Biofilm Formation on Microplastic Behaviour in Aquatic Environments: An Comprehensive Review.
This review examines how biofilms — communities of microorganisms that coat microplastics — change the behavior of plastic particles in aquatic environments, affecting how they move, sink, and interact with ecosystems. Understanding biofilm formation on microplastics is key to predicting where these particles end up and what risks they pose to water quality and aquatic life.
Carbonate mineral precipitation enhances microplastic deposition in karst rivers globally
Scientists found that tiny plastic particles in rivers stick to calcium-based minerals and sink to the river bottom, especially in areas with limestone and similar rocks. This natural process acts like a filter that traps microplastics before they reach the ocean, which could be good news since it reduces the amount of plastic pollution flowing into marine food chains. Understanding this process could help us develop better ways to remove microplastics from rivers in different geological regions.
Interaction of cyanobacteria with calcium facilitates the sedimentation of microplastics in a eutrophic reservoir
Researchers found that cyanobacteria interactions with calcium facilitate the sedimentation of initially buoyant polyethylene microplastics in a eutrophic reservoir. Phototrophic sessile cyanobacteria precipitated calcite while forming biofilms on microplastic surfaces during summer, increasing particle density and driving their transfer to sediments.
Microbial Life on the Surface of Microplastics in Natural Waters
Researchers reviewed how microorganisms colonize the surface of microplastic particles floating in natural waters, forming biofilms that can include potentially harmful bacteria. These biofilm-coated microplastics concentrate near the water-air interface and are more readily consumed by aquatic animals than bare plastic particles. The study highlights that understanding microbial life on microplastics is essential for assessing their environmental and public health impacts.
Influence of microplastics on nutrients and metal concentrations in river sediments
Researchers investigated how microplastics influence nutrient and metal concentrations in river sediments, finding that microplastics alter the distribution of pollutants through their capacity to adsorb contaminants and support biofilm formation on their hydrophobic surfaces.
Sinking of microbial-associated microplastics in natural waters
Researchers investigated how microbial biofilm colonization of microplastics affects their buoyancy and sinking behavior in natural waters, finding that biological ballasting from attached microorganisms can significantly increase particle density and promote vertical transport toward sediments. The results suggest that biofouling is a key mechanism driving the removal of microplastics from surface waters.
Migration of natural organic matter and Pseudomonas fluorescens-associated polystyrene on natural substrates in aquatic environments
This study examined how a coating of natural organic matter or bacterial biofilm changes the way microplastic particles attach to and move through aquatic surfaces, finding that both coatings altered particle behavior in ways that depended on water salt concentration. Understanding how environmental coatings affect microplastic transport helps predict where particles will ultimately end up — and which organisms are most likely to be exposed.
Aggregation kinetics of microplastics in aquatic environment: Complex roles of electrolytes, pH, and natural organic matter
Researchers found that the aggregation behavior of polystyrene microplastics in water was strongly influenced by pH, ionic strength, and the presence of natural organic matter, with divalent cations like calcium and magnesium promoting aggregation. Understanding aggregation kinetics is critical for predicting how microplastics partition between suspended and settled states in natural water bodies.
Microbial biofilm formation and community structure on low-density polyethylene microparticles in lake water microcosms
Researchers investigated biofilm formation on low-density polyethylene microparticles in lake water microcosms, finding that microplastic surfaces supported distinct and dynamic microbial communities that differed from those in the surrounding water.
Exploring different effects of biofilm formation and natural organic matter adsorption on the properties of three typical microplastics in the freshwater
Researchers compared how natural biofilm growth versus dissolved organic matter adsorption changes the surface properties of three common microplastics in freshwater. Biofilm formation deposited more material and reduced surface area, while organic matter adsorption created pores and cracks that actually increased surface area, indicating early-stage plastic degradation. Both processes reduced the water-repelling properties of the plastics, which affects how microplastics behave and move through aquatic environments.
Calcite carbonate sinks low-density plastic debris in open oceans
Researchers found that calcite precipitation, a natural biogeochemical process in the ocean, causes low-density plastic debris to sink by coating particles with mineral layers that increase their density. The finding identifies a previously unrecognized mechanism for removing buoyant plastics from the ocean surface.
Microplastic biofilm in fresh- and wastewater as a function of microparticle type and size class
Researchers compared the biofilm communities that form on microplastics of different types and sizes in both freshwater and wastewater, finding that biofilm composition was influenced by particle type, size, and water source. These findings advance understanding of the plastisphere — the microbial community unique to plastic surfaces — and its potential role in spreading microorganism-associated risks.
Biofilm formation and its implications on the properties and fate of microplastics in aquatic environments: A review
Researchers reviewed how microplastics in water attract and support communities of bacteria and other microorganisms that form biofilms — living coatings that alter the plastic particles' movement, help them carry pathogens, and affect how toxic chemicals attached to the plastic are absorbed by living things. Understanding this "plastisphere" ecosystem is critical for predicting where microplastics go and how harmful they become.
Microplastic-specific biofilm growth determines the vertical transport of plastics in freshwater
Researchers studied biofilm growth on five different microplastic polymer types in freshwater over 63 days to understand how biological colonization affects sinking behavior. The study found that biofilm growth is polymer-specific and can significantly alter the density of microplastic particles, which in turn determines whether they sink or float, influencing their vertical transport through freshwater systems.
Microplastics in freshwaters: Comparing effects of particle properties and an invertebrate consumer on microbial communities and ecosystem functions
Researchers tested how different microplastic properties, including concentration, shape, and polymer type, affect microbial communities and ecosystem functions in freshwater environments. They found that the presence of an invertebrate consumer had a stronger influence on microbial activity than the microplastics themselves, though high concentrations of certain particle shapes did alter community composition. The study suggests that the ecological effects of microplastics in freshwater depend heavily on the broader biological context.
Biofilm (Eco-Corona) Formation from Microplastics in Freshwater
This review examines eco-corona and biofilm formation on microplastics in freshwater environments, explaining how microbial colonization of plastic surfaces changes their buoyancy, surface chemistry, and biological interactions, with implications for MP transport and ecotoxicity.
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.
Microplastics as an emerging anthropogenic vector of trace metals in freshwater: Significance of biofilms and comparison with natural substrates
Scientists placed virgin polystyrene microplastics in a eutrophic urban lake and a drinking water reservoir for four weeks to allow biofilm development, then measured trace metal accumulation, finding that biofilm-coated microplastics accumulated significantly more metals than virgin plastics or natural substrates.
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.
Biocalcification Induces the Preferential Settling of Small Buoyant Microplastics in Freshwater
This study examined how a common freshwater algae (Microcystis aeruginosa) promotes the sinking of buoyant microplastics through a process called biocalcification — where biological activity causes calcium carbonate crystals to form on the plastic surface, increasing its density. Smaller microplastics were more strongly affected than larger ones because they adsorb more of the algal secretions that serve as crystal-nucleation sites, and environmental weathering of plastics enhanced the effect further. This natural mechanism could significantly influence how quickly and where microplastics settle out of the water column in freshwater lakes.
Perspective into bio-fouled microplastic behaviour, transportation and characterization in water bodies
This review examines how biofouling alters the physicochemical properties of microplastics — including density, surface charge, hydrophobicity, and roughness — and how the resulting 'plastisphere' biofilm community reshapes microplastic transport dynamics, vertical flux, and long-term fate in aquatic systems.