Microbial communities on microplastics from seawater and mussels: Insights from the northern Adriatic Sea.

Microplastics, synthetic solid particles of different sizes (< 5 mm), pose a major challenge to marine ecosystems. Introducing microplastics into the marine environment leads to the formation of complex microbial communities, a topic of growing interest in environmental research. For this study, we selected an area in the northern Adriatic Sea, less affected by human activities, to understand how pristine environmental conditions influence microbial colonization of microplastics.

Microplastic pollution in small rivers along rural-urban gradients: Variations across catchments and between water column and sediments.

The aquatic ecosystems of the world are highly burdened with microplastics (MPs; particles <5 mm). There is a great need for better understanding of patterns of MP pollution across catchments and rivers of different sizes, anthropogenic pressures and hydrogeomorphological features. In this study, we investigated the MP concentrations including their characteristics (polymer type, shape, size and colour), and MP distribution in water and sediments of two hydrogeomorphologically different small-scale catchments (< 800 km), namely Kamniška Bistrica (KB) and Ljubljanica (LJ), Slovenia.

Dissecting giant hailstones: A glimpse into the troposphere with its diverse bacterial communities and fibrous microplastics.

The formation of giant hailstones is a rare weather event that has devastating consequences in inhabited areas. This hazard has been occurring more frequently and with greater size of hailstones in recent years, and thus needs to be better understood. While the generally accepted mechanism is thought to be a process similar to the formation of smaller hailstones but with exceptional duration and stronger updrafts, recent evidence suggests that biotic and abiotic factors also influence the growth of these unusually large ice chunks.

A harmonized and coordinated assessment of the abundance and composition of seafloor litter in the Adriatic-Ionian macroregion (Mediterranean Sea).

Marine litter is a threat to marine life and an economic burden for coastal communities, but efforts to address the issue are hampered by the lack of data for many countries. We performed the first harmonized assessment of seafloor litter (trawl and visual surveys) in six countries of the Adriatic-Ionian macroregion. Seafloor litter showed an uneven distribution throughout the area, with large differences in litter densities and composition among countries and locations.

Assessment on marine litter ingested by fish in the Adriatic and NE Ionian Sea macro-region (Mediterranean).

This study presents data on the marine litter occurrence in the stomachs of fish species living in different marine habitats for the Adriatic and NE Ionian Sea macro-region. "Macro-litter" was examined in 614 specimens belonging to 11 species, while micro-litter in 230 specimens belonging to 7 species. The study highlights for the first time the presence of litter in the stomachs of the fish species Citharus linguatula.

Microplastics as a vector for the transport of the bacterial fish pathogen species Aeromonas salmonicida.

Microplastics is widespread in the marine environment where it can cause numerous negative effects. It can provide space for the growth of organisms and serves as a vector for the long distance transfer of marine microorganisms. In this study, we examined the sea surface concentrations of microplastics in the North Adriatic and characterized bacterial communities living on the microplastics.

Extraction of Organochlorine Pesticides from Plastic Pellets and Plastic Type Analysis.

Plastic resin pellets, categorized as microplastics (≤5 mm in diameter), are small granules that can be unintentionally released to the environment during manufacturing and transport. Because of their environmental persistence, they are widely distributed in the oceans and on beaches all over the world. They can act as a vector of potentially toxic organic compounds (e.

Protocol for Microplastics Sampling on the Sea Surface and Sample Analysis.

Microplastic pollution in the marine environment is a scientific topic that has received increasing attention over the last decade. The majority of scientific publications address microplastic pollution of the sea surface. The protocol below describes the methodology for sampling, sample preparation, separation and chemical identification of microplastic particles.

Mercury induced community tolerance in microbial biofilms is related to pollution gradients in a long-term polluted river.

The net toxicity of different forms of mercury, in the long-term during their transformation processes, leads to the selection of resistant bacterial cells and this result in community tolerance which is pollution induced. Accordingly, based on profiles of a bacterial community structure, analysis of Hg resistant culturable bacteria and quantification of merA genes, we assessed development of pollution induced community tolerance in a mercury-polluted gradient in the Idrijca River. TTGE analysis did not show effects of mercury pollution to bacterial community diversity, while quantification of merA genes showed that merA genes can be correlated precisely (R(2)=0.