Plastic pollution fosters more microbial growth in lakes than natural organic matter.

Plastic debris widely pollutes freshwaters. Abiotic and biotic degradation of plastics releases carbon-based substrates that are available for heterotrophic growth, but little is known about how these novel organic compounds influence microbial metabolism. Here we found leachate from plastic shopping bags was chemically distinct and more bioavailable than natural organic matter from 29 Scandinavian lakes.

Microplastics and anthropogenic fibre concentrations in lakes reflect surrounding land use.

Pollution from microplastics and anthropogenic fibres threatens lakes, but we know little about what factors predict its accumulation. Lakes may be especially contaminated because of long water retention times and proximity to pollution sources. Here, we surveyed anthropogenic microparticles, i.

Seasonal microbial community dynamics correlate with phytoplankton-derived polysaccharides in surface coastal waters.

Phytoplankton produce large amounts of polysaccharide gel material known as transparent exopolymer particles (TEP). We investigated the potential links between phytoplankton-derived TEP and microbial community structure in the sea surface microlayer and underlying water at the English Channel time-series station L4 during a spring diatom bloom, and in two adjacent estuaries. Major changes in bacterioneuston and bacterioplankton community structure occurred after the peak of the spring bloom at L4, and coincided with the significant decline of microlayer and water column TEP.