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Colonization characteristics of bacterial communities on plastic debris, influenced by environmental factors and polymer types in the Haihe Estuary of Bohai Bay, China.

Wenjie Li,Ying Zhang,Nan Wu,Ze Zhao,Wei'an Xu,Yongzheng Ma,Zhi-guang Niu

Published 2019 in Environmental Science and Technology

ABSTRACT

The colonization characteristics of bacterial communities on microplastics or plastic debris (PD) have generated great concern in recent years. However, the influence of environmental factors and polymer types on the formation of bacterial communities on PD in estuarine areas is less studied. To gain additional insights, five types of PD (polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene and polyurethane) were exposed for three-time periods (two weeks, four weeks and six weeks) in the Haihe Estuary. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to identify the bacterial communities on PD, in seawater and sediment samples. The results indicate that the average growth rate of biofilm is affected by nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus) and salinity. Furthermore, salinity is the primary factor affecting bacterial diversity of the colonies on PD. In addition, the genera of bacteria show selectivity towards the PD polymer type and tend to colonize their preferred substrate. Compared with seawater and sediment, PD could be carriers for enrichment of Vibrio in the estuarine environment with salinity ≥ 26 (± 2‰), which might increase the ecological risk of PD in marine environments.

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