Microplastics increase the marine production of particulate forms of organic matter | Zendy

Luisa Galgani | Zendy; Manolis Tsapakis | Zendy; Paraskevi Pitta | Zendy; Anastasia Tsiola | Zendy; Eleni Tzempelikou | Zendy; Ioanna Kalantzi | Zendy; Chiara Esposito | Zendy; Arturo Loiselle | Zendy; Anastasia Tsotskou | Zendy; Snežana Živanović | Zendy; Eleni Dafnomili | Zendy; Santi Diliberto | Zendy; Kyriaki Mylona | Zendy; Iordanis Magiopoulos | Zendy; Christina Zeri | Zendy; Elli Pitta | Zendy; Steven Loiselle | Zendy

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Microplastics increase the marine production of particulate forms of organic matter

Author(s) -

Luisa Galgani,

Manolis Tsapakis,

Paraskevi Pitta,

Anastasia Tsiola,

Eleni Tzempelikou,

Ioanna Kalantzi,

Chiara Esposito,

Arturo Loiselle,

Anastasia Tsotskou,

Snežana Živanović,

Eleni Dafnomili,

Santi Diliberto,

Kyriaki Mylona,

Iordanis Magiopoulos,

Christina Zeri,

Elli Pitta,

Steven Loiselle

Publication year - 2019

Publication title -

environmental research letters

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 2.37

H-Index - 124

ISSN - 1748-9326

DOI - 10.1088/1748-9326/ab59ca

Subject(s) - microplastics , mesocosm , microbial loop , environmental chemistry , particulates , organic matter , seawater , environmental science , dissolved organic carbon , remineralisation , biofilm , nutrient , chemistry , ecology , biology , phytoplankton , bacteria , inorganic chemistry , fluoride , genetics

Microplastics are a major environmental challenge, being ubiquitous and persistent as to represent a new component in all marine environments. As any biogenic particle, microplastics provide surfaces for microbial growth and biofilm production, which largely consists of carbohydrates and proteins. Biofilms influence microbial activity and modify particle buoyancy, and therefore control the fate of microplastics at sea. In a simulated ‘plastic ocean’, three mesocosms containing oligotrophic seawater were amended with polystyrene microbeads and compared to three control mesocosms. The evolution of organic matter, microbial communities and nutrient concentrations was monitored over 12 days. The results indicated that microplastics increased the production of organic carbon and its aggregation into gel particulates. The observed increase of gel-like organics has implications on the marine biological pump as well as the transport of microplastics in the ocean.

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