aquatic-ecosystems
Aquatic ecosystems are biological communities found in water bodies—both marine and freshwater—where organisms interact with each other and their environment. These ecosystems are fundamental to plant science because they support diverse aquatic plant communities with specialized adaptations to water-based life and drive essential ecological processes such as oxygen production, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-05-25
Plastic pollution and nutrient-polluted water team up in a way nobody expected: murky, algae-choked ponds actually breed microbes that are better at breaking down plastic — but also better at forming the slimy coatings that help pathogens hitch a ride on that plastic.
Plastic films incubated under simulated eutrophic (nutrient-enriched, algae-bloom) conditions over 42 days accumulated significantly more bacteria carrying genes for breaking down plastic polymers, including enzymes called alkane hydroxylase, copper oxidase, and esterase.
The same eutrophic conditions enriched bacteria that build thick, sticky biofilm coatings (EPS), suggesting nutrient pollution helps form a matrix that shelters and supports plastic-degrading microbes.
The dominant bacteria in both plastic-degrading and biofilm-building groups belonged to the same classes (Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Cyanobacteria), pointing to a tightly linked community response to eutrophication.