PMID- 34773676
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20220224
LR  - 20220731
IS  - 1365-2486 (Electronic)
IS  - 1354-1013 (Print)
IS  - 1354-1013 (Linking)
VI  - 28
IP  - 4
DP  - 2022 Feb
TI  - Microalgae colonization of different microplastic polymers in experimental 
      mesocosms across an environmental gradient.
PG  - 1402-1413
LID - 10.1111/gcb.15989 [doi]
AB  - A variety of organisms can colonize microplastic surfaces through biofouling 
      processes. Heterotrophic bacteria tend to be the focus of plastisphere research; 
      however, the presence of epiplastic microalgae within the biofilm has been 
      repeatedly documented. Despite the relevance of biofouling in determining the 
      fate and effects of microplastics in aquatic systems, data about this process are 
      still scarce, especially for freshwater ecosystems. Here, our goal was to 
      evaluate the biomass development and species composition of biofilms on different 
      plastic polymers and to investigate whether plastic substrates exert a strong 
      enough selection to drive species sorting, overcoming other niche-defining 
      factors. We added microplastic pellets of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), 
      polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and a mix of the two polymers in 15 lentic 
      mesocosms in five different locations of the Iberian Peninsula, and after one 
      month, we evaluated species composition and biomass of microalgae developed on 
      plastic surfaces. Our results, based on 45 samples, showed that colonization of 
      plastic surfaces occurred in a range of lentic ecosystems covering a wide 
      geographical gradient and different environmental conditions (e.g., nutrient 
      concentration, conductivity, macrophyte coverage). We highlighted that total 
      biomass differed based on the polymer considered, with higher biomass developed 
      on PET substrate compared to HDPE. Microplastics supported the growth of a rich 
      and diversified community of microalgae (242 species), with some cosmopolite 
      species. However, we did not observe species-specificity in the colonization of 
      the different plastic polymers. Local species pool and nutrient concentration 
      rather than polymeric composition seemed to be the determinant factor defying the 
      community diversity. Regardless of specific environmental conditions, we showed 
      that many species could coexist on the surface of relatively small plastic items, 
      highlighting how microplastics may have considerable carrying capacity, with 
      possible consequences on the wider ecological context.
CI  - (c) 2021 The Authors. Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
FAU - Nava, Veronica
AU  - Nava V
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-2770-1937
AD  - Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, 
      Milano, Italy.
FAU - Matias, Miguel G
AU  - Matias MG
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-9198-2051
AD  - Department of Biogeografia y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, 
      CSIC, Madrid, Spain.
AD  - MED-Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Rui 
      Nabeiro Biodiversity Chair, Universidade de Evora, Evora, Portugal.
FAU - Castillo-Escriva, Andreu
AU  - Castillo-Escriva A
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-4416-4803
AD  - MED-Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Rui 
      Nabeiro Biodiversity Chair, Universidade de Evora, Evora, Portugal.
FAU - Messyasz, Beata
AU  - Messyasz B
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-4371-3591
AD  - Department of Hydrobiology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Adam Mickiewicz 
      University in Poznan, Poznan, Poland.
FAU - Leoni, Barbara
AU  - Leoni B
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-9448-9457
AD  - Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, 
      Milano, Italy.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20211203
PL  - England
TA  - Glob Chang Biol
JT  - Global change biology
JID - 9888746
RN  - 0 (Microplastics)
RN  - 0 (Plastics)
RN  - 0 (Polymers)
RN  - 0 (Water Pollutants, Chemical)
SB  - IM
MH  - Ecosystem
MH  - Environmental Monitoring
MH  - *Microalgae
MH  - Microplastics
MH  - Plastics
MH  - Polymers/chemistry
MH  - *Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis
PMC - PMC9299714
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - biofouling
OT  - epiplastic community
OT  - periphyton
OT  - phytobenthos
OT  - plastic colonization
OT  - plastisphere
COIS- The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
EDAT- 2021/11/14 06:00
MHDA- 2022/02/25 06:00
PMCR- 2022/07/20
CRDT- 2021/11/13 12:13
PHST- 2021/10/11 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2021/06/30 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2021/10/22 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2021/11/14 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2022/02/25 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2021/11/13 12:13 [entrez]
PHST- 2022/07/20 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - GCB15989 [pii]
AID - 10.1111/gcb.15989 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Glob Chang Biol. 2022 Feb;28(4):1402-1413. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15989. Epub 2021 Dec 
      3.