Characterization of dissolved organic matter leached from plastics and its effects on marine microbes

Autor: Mallenco Fornies, Rebeca
Přispěvatelé: Romera-Castillo, Cristina, Vidal, Montserrat
Rok vydání: 2019
Zdroj: Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
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Popis: Trabajo final presentado por Rebeca Mallenco Fornies para el Máster en Oceanografía y Gestión del Medio Marino de la Universitat de Barcelona (UB), realizado bajo la dirección de la Dra. Cristina Romera Castillo del Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) y la Dra Montserrat Vidal de la Universitat de Barcelona (UB).-- 20 pages, 3 figures, 1 table
Plastic debris is a real problem in our society whose consequences at lower trophic levels remain unknown. Every year, 23.600 metric tons of dissolved organic carbon are leached globally from the plastic reaching the ocean. The chemical characteristics of those released compounds and its effects on marine bacteria are poorly understood. This research studies the dissolved organic matter (DOM) leached from two different commonly used types of plastics, low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polystyrene (PS), into seawater. The concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was analysed and the DOM was characterized through fluorescence techniques. In addition, the effect of the DOM released by plastic on bacterial activity was also studied through incubation experiments. Our results show that LDPE and PS release DOC into seawater, with the highest leaching for LDPE. For both plastic types, irradiation enhanced the DOC leaching. In general, DOM leached from plastic do not show fluorescent signals. However, a decrease of humic- and protein-like fluorescence was observed after irradiation probably due to photo-degradation of the DOM already present in the artificial seawater or the re-sorption of this one into the plastic. Heterotrophic bacteria reached a higher density on LDPE leachates treatments, especially in those previously irradiated. Bacteria growing on LDPE leachates produced higher amount of protein-like compounds while those growing on PS leachates produced higher humic-like substances
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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