塑料污染
溶解有机碳
环境科学
海水
浸出(土壤学)
环境化学
污染
微塑料
食物网
异养
微生物食品网
营养水平
总有机碳
海洋学
生态学
化学
地质学
土壤科学
生物
细菌
古生物学
土壤水分
作者
Cristina Romera‐Castillo,Maria Pinto,Teresa M. Langer,Xosé Antón Álvarez‐Salgado,Gerhard J. Herndl
标识
DOI:10.1038/s41467-018-03798-5
摘要
Approximately 5.25 trillion plastic pieces are floating at the sea surface. The impact of plastic pollution on the lowest trophic levels of the food web, however, remains unknown. Here we show that plastics release dissolved organic carbon (DOC) into the ambient seawater stimulating the activity of heterotrophic microbes. Our estimates indicate that globally up to 23,600 metric tons of DOC are leaching from marine plastics annually. About 60% of it is available to microbial utilization in less than 5 days. If exposed to solar radiation, however, this DOC becomes less labile. Thus, plastic pollution of marine surface waters likely alters the composition and activity of the base of the marine food webs. It is predicted that plastic waste entering the ocean will increase by a factor of ten within the next decade, resulting in an increase in plastic-derived DOC that might have unaccounted consequences for marine microbes and for the ocean system.
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