Microplastics effects on marine microbial communities and their functioning

Microplastics pervade ocean ecosystems. Despite their effects on individuals or populations are well documented, the consequences of microplastics on ecosystem functioning, especially regarding lower trophic levels, are still largely unknown. Here we show how microplastics alter the structure and functioning of pelagic microbial ecosystems. Using experimental pelagic mesocosms, we found that microplastics indirectly affect marine productivity by changing the bacterial and phytoplankton assemblages. Specifically, the addition of microplastics increased phytoplankton biomass and shifted bacterial assemblages’ composition. Such changes altered the interactions between heterotrophic and autotrophic microbes and the cycling of ammonia in the water column, which ultimately benefited photosynthetic efficiency. The effects of microplastics on marine productivity were consistent for different microplastic types. This study demonstrates that microplastics affect bacteria and phytoplankton communi..., The dataset comes from an experimental mesocosm system. Six cylindrical nets (50 m3 each, 15 meters depth) were set in the surface waters of a coastal Mediterranean area (Gulf of Naples). The six mesocosms were divided into two groups: the first (M1, M2 and M3, hereafter No-Microplastics group) was only treated with nutrient fertilization, while the second (M4, M5 and M6, hereafter Microplastics group) with nutrient fertilization and microplastics addition. Five different polymers were used: polystyrene (PS, density 1.04-1.09 g cm-3), polyethylene (PE, 0.89-0.95 g cm-3), polypropylene (PP, 0.85-0.92 g cm-3), polyvinylchloride (PVC, 1.16-1.41 g cm-3) and polyethyleneterephthalate (PET, 1.34-1.41 g cm-3). We studied changes in phytoplankton productivity following the experimental addition of microplastics. Phytoplankton productivity was measured as the maximum quantum yield of primary photochemistry, which is the ratio between variable and maxima fluorescence (Fv/Fm) and reflects photosyn..., This repository includes the data and code used in Montoya et al (to be submitted to L&O Letters). More specifically: Dataset.xlsx includes data on MPS, bacteria and phytoplankton data, environmental variables, and ocean productivity ‘Microplastics code’ refers to the programming code used for the statistical analyses and plot construction using R software. Data and code are provided in Excel and text file format, respectively.

微塑料（microplastics）广泛分布于海洋生态系统中。尽管其对个体或种群的影响已有充分记录，但微塑料对生态系统功能的影响，尤其是针对低营养级生物的相关效应，目前仍基本未知。本研究揭示了微塑料如何改变浮游微生物生态系统的结构与功能。通过实验浮游中宇宙系统（pelagic mesocosms），我们发现微塑料可通过改变细菌与浮游植物群落组成，间接影响海洋生产力。具体而言，微塑料添加提升了浮游植物生物量，并改变了细菌群落结构。此类变化重塑了异养微生物与自养微生物间的相互作用，以及水柱中的氨循环过程，最终提升了光合效率。不同类型微塑料对海洋生产力的影响具有一致性。本研究证实，微塑料会对细菌与浮游植物群落产生影响……

本数据集源自实验中宇宙系统。实验设置了6个圆柱形围隔（单个体积50 m³，深度15 m），放置于地中海沿岸那不勒斯湾的表层水域。6个围隔被划分为两组：第一组（M1、M2、M3，下称无微塑料组）仅施加营养盐施肥处理，第二组（M4、M5、M6，下称微塑料组）则同时施加营养盐施肥与微塑料添加处理。实验使用了5种不同聚合物：聚苯乙烯（PS，密度1.04~1.09 g·cm⁻³）、聚乙烯（PE，0.89~0.95 g·cm⁻³）、聚丙烯（PP，0.85~0.92 g·cm⁻³）、聚氯乙烯（PVC，1.16~1.41 g·cm⁻³）以及聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（PET，1.34~1.41 g·cm⁻³）。本研究探究了微塑料添加后浮游植物生产力的变化。浮游植物生产力以原初光化学反应的最大量子产率进行测定，即可变荧光与最大荧光的比值（Fv/Fm），可反映光合……

本仓库包含Montoya等人研究中所用的数据与代码（该研究已投稿至《Limnology and Oceanography Letters》，简称L&O Letters）。具体而言：Dataset.xlsx 包含微塑料（MPS）、细菌与浮游植物数据、环境变量以及海洋生产力数据。「Microplastics code」指使用R软件开展统计分析与绘图所用的编程代码。数据与代码分别以Excel文件与文本文件格式提供。