'Microbes and Microplastics: Assessing the influence of ingesting microbially colonised plastics on the physiology of fish'

Existing microplastic studies, for both marine and freshwater environments, often perform laboratory exposure studies with particles and conditions which do not reflect the state of the natural environment. Furthermore, many exposure studies fail to fully characterise the properties and behaviour of microplastic particles before the onset of experiments. A major difference between the microplastics used in laboratories and those present in the field is the presence of a microbial biofilm on environmental microplastics. This biofilm, often termed 'The Plastisphere', has the potential to modify microplastic properties, such as hydrophobicity, surface texture and surface charge and may also influence the buoyancy and aggregation behaviour of particles. The nutritional organic layer formed over microplastics by the biofilm may also influence the likelihood of microplastic ingestion by concealing the inedible nature of the particle and emitting chemical cues which stimulate or inhibit feeding behaviour. Understanding the nature of the plastisphere, its potential effect on microplastics and their ability to influence particle uptake by larger organisms, is a necessary step in gaining a more realistic understanding of the risks of microplastics to the environment and aquatic organisms.