The DOI matches its Crossref record; 65 of the 68 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Spatial and seasonal variation in diversity and structure of microbial biofilms on marine plastics in Northern European waters
Open accessAbstract
Plastic pollution is now recognised as a major threat to marine environments and marine biota. Recent research highlights that diverse microbial species are found to colonise plastic surfaces (the plastisphere) within marine waters. Here, we investigate how the structure and diversity of marine plastisphere microbial community vary with respect to season, location and plastic substrate type. We performed a 6-week exposure experiment with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles in the North Sea (UK) as well as sea surface sampling of plastic polymers in Northern European waters. Scanning electron microscopy revealed diverse plastisphere communities comprising prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing analysis revealed that plastisphere microbial communities on PET fragments varied both with season and location and comprised of bacteria belonging to Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria and members of the eukaryotes Bacillariophyceae and Phaeophyceae. Polymers sampled from the sea surface mainly comprised polyethylene, polystyrene and polypropylene particles. Variation within plastisphere communities on different polymer types was observed, but communities were primarily dominated by Cyanobacteria. This research reveals that the composition of plastisphere microbial communities in marine waters varies with season, geographical location and plastic substrate type. We investigated structural and taxonomical variation of microbial biofilm communities on plastic fragments in coastal and offshore Northern European waters, with respect to season, geographical location and plastic type. We investigated structural and taxonomical variation of microbial biofilm communities on plastic fragments in coastal and offshore Northern European waters, with respect to season, geographical location and plastic type.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Loss of samples by anthropogenic impact or natural forces (e.g. [29, 38, 40, 42]) could substantially jeopardize the outcome of experiments.”
From Field and mesocosm methods to test biodegradable plastic film under marine conditions (2020) · cites this paper as [42]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Basic local alignment search tool
Altschul, S. F., Gish, W., Miller, W., Myers, E. W., & Lipman, D. J. (1990) · Journal of Molecular Biology · doi:10.1006/jmbi.1990.9999 · Cited by 98,669
A Mathematical Theory of Communication
Shannon, C. E. (1948) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.1002/j.1538-7305.1948.tb00917.x · Cited by 50,387
Hall, T. A. (1999) · Nucleic Acids Symposium Series · doi:10.14601/phytopathol_mediterr-14998u1.29 · Cited by 38,156
A new method for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance
Anderson, M. J. (2001) · Austral Ecology · doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2001.01070.pp.x · Cited by 13,828
Muyzer, G., de Waal, E. C., & Uitterlinden, A. G. (1993) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.59.3.695-700.1993 · Cited by 11,490
Klindworth, A., Pruesse, E., Schweer, T., Peplies, J., Quast, C., Horn, M., & Glöckner, F. O. (2013) · Nucleic Acids Research · doi:10.1093/nar/gks808 · Cited by 8,850
Microplastics in the marine environment
Andrady, A. L. (2011) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.05.030 · Cited by 8,105
Lost at sea: where is all the plastic?
Thompson, R. C., Olsen, Y., Mitchell, R. P., Davis, A., Rowland, S. J., John, A. W. G., McGonigle, D., & Russell, A. E. (2004) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1094559 · Cited by 7,765
Bacterial biofilms: from the Natural environment to infectious diseases
Hall‐Stoodley, L., Costerton, J. W., & Stoodley, P. (2004) · Nature Reviews Microbiology · doi:10.1038/nrmicro821 · Cited by 7,133
Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments
Barnes, D. K. A., Galgani, F., Thompson, R. C., & Barlaz, M. (2009) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0205 · Cited by 6,126
Microplastics as contaminants in the marine environment: A review
Cole, M., Lindeque, P., Halsband, C., & Galloway, T. S. (2011) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.09.025 · Cited by 6,023
Hidalgo-Ruz, V., Gutow, L., Thompson, R. C., & Thiel, M. (2012) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es2031505 · Cited by 5,440
Life in the “plastisphere”: microbial communities on plastic marine debris
Zettler, E. R., Mincer, T. J., & Amaral-Zettler, L. A. (2013) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es401288x · Cited by 3,368 · cited 16×
“Previous studies characterising plastic polymers from European waters are rare, and a comparison is difficult due to missing standard operational procedures; Mor et-Ferguson et al. (2010) analysed 748 debris samples from the Atlantic Ocean and provided strong evidence for half of the particles being polyethylene and p…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialMicrobial Biofilms: from Ecology to Molecular Genetics
Davey, M. E., & O’Toole, G. A. (2000) · Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews · doi:10.1128/mmbr.64.4.847-867.2000 · Cited by 3,184
Applications and societal benefits of plastics
Andrady, A. L., & Neal, M. A. (2009) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0304 · Cited by 2,464
Browne, M. A., Dissanayake, A., Galloway, T. S., Lowe, D. M., & Thompson, R. C. (2008) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es800249a · Cited by 2,263
Plastic Resin Pellets as a Transport Medium for Toxic Chemicals in the Marine Environment
Mato, Y., Isobe, T., Takada, H., Kanehiro, H., OHTAKE, C., & Kaminuma, T. (2000) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es0010498 · Cited by 1,898
Gregory, M. R. (2009) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0265 · Cited by 1,852
Grau, J. M. G., & Sáiz‐Jiménez, C. (2002) · Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1046/j.1462-2920.2002.00362.x · Cited by 1,707
The present and future of microplastic pollution in the marine environment
do Sul, J. A. I., & da Costa, M. F. (2013) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2013.10.036 · Cited by 1,663
Plastics on the Sargasso Sea Surface
Carpenter, E. J., & Smith, K. L. (1972) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.175.4027.1240 · Cited by 1,663
Plastic accumulation in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre
Law, K. L., Morét-Ferguson, S., Maximenko, N. A., Proskurowski, G., Peacock, E. E., Hafner, J., & Reddy, C. M. (2010) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1192321 · Cited by 1,377
Potential for Plastics to Transport Hydrophobic Contaminants
Teuten, E. L., Rowland, S. J., Galloway, T. S., & Thompson, R. C. (2007) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es071737s · Cited by 1,281
Plastic ingestion by planktivorous fishes in the North Pacific central gyre
Boerger, C. M., Lattin, G. L., Moore, S. L., & Moore, C. J. (2010) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.08.007 · Cited by 1,273
Spatial patterns of plastic debris along estuarine shorelines
Browne, M. A., Galloway, T. S., & Thompson, R. C. (2010) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es903784e · Cited by 1,246 · cited 1×
“Our results are also consistent with the findings of Browne et al. (2010), who carried out a study on plastic debris in the Tamar Estuary (UK).”
ResultPolystyrene Spherules in Coastal Waters
Carpenter, E. J., Anderson, S. J., Harvey, G. R., Miklas, H. P., & Peck, B. B. (1972) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.178.4062.749 · Cited by 1,115
Simple and rapid method for isolating large plasmid DNA from lactic streptococci
Anderson, D. G., & McKay, L. L. (1983) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.46.3.549-552.1983 · Cited by 1,026
A Comparison of Plastic and Plankton in the North Pacific Central Gyre
Moore, C. J., Moore, S., Leecaster, M. K., & Weisberg, S. B. (2001) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/s0025-326x(01)00114-x · Cited by 1,017
Early microbial biofilm formation on marine plastic debris
Lobelle, D., & Cunliffe, M. (2011) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.10.013 · Cited by 962
Invasions by marine life on plastic debris
Barnes, D. K. A. (2002) · Nature · doi:10.1038/416808a · Cited by 740
A latitudinal diversity gradient in planktonic marine bacteria
Fuhrman, J. A., Steele, J. A., Hewson, I., Schwalbach, M. S., Brown, M. V., Green, J. L., & Brown, J. H. (2008) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0803070105 · Cited by 733
Wiedenbeck, J., & Cohan, F. M. (2011) · FEMS Microbiology Reviews · doi:10.1111/j.1574-6976.2011.00292.x · Cited by 693
The size, mass, and composition of plastic debris in the western North Atlantic Ocean.
Morét-Ferguson, S., Law, K., Proskurowski, G., Murphy, E., Peacock, E., & Reddy, C. (2010) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.07.020 · Cited by 636
Plastic pollution in the South Pacific subtropical gyre
Eriksen, M., Maximenko, N., Thiel, M., Cummins, A., Lattin, G., Wilson, S., Hafner, J., Zellers, A., & Rifman, S. (2013) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.12.021 · Cited by 595
Resource Partitioning and Sympatric Differentiation Among Closely Related Bacterioplankton
Hunt, D. E., David, L. A., Gevers, D., Preheim, S. P., Alm, E. J., & Polz, M. F. (2008) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1157890 · Cited by 501
Marine microbe-mediated biodegradation of low- and high-density polyethylenes
Sudhakar, M., Doble, M., Murthy, P. S., & Venkatesan, R. (2008) · International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation · doi:10.1016/j.ibiod.2007.07.011 · Cited by 441
Biodegradation of Polyester Polyurethane by Endophytic Fungi
Russell, J. R., Huang, J. R., Anand, P., Kucera, K., Sandoval, A., Dantzler, K. W., Hickman, D. A., Jee, J.-W., Kimovec, F. M., Koppstein, D., et al. (2011) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.00521-11 · Cited by 434
Dang, H., Li, T., Chen, M., & Huang, G. (2007) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.01400-07 · Cited by 389
Watanabe, K., Kodama, Y., & Harayama, S. (2001) · Journal of Microbiological Methods · doi:10.1016/s0167-7012(01)00220-2 · Cited by 360
Lattin, G., Moore, C. J., Zellers, A., Moore, S. L., & Weisberg, S. (2004) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2004.01.020 · Cited by 352
The plastic-associated microorganisms of the North Pacific Gyre
Carson, H. S., Nerheim, M. S., Carroll, K. A., & Eriksen, M. (2013) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.07.054 · Cited by 346
Drifting plastic debris as a potential vector for dispersing Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) species
Masó, M., Garcés, E., Pagès, F., & Camp, J. (2003) · Scientia Marina · doi:10.3989/scimar.2003.67n1107 · Cited by 333
Paerl, H. W., Pinckney, J. L., & Steppe, T. F. (2000) · Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1046/j.1462-2920.2000.00071.x · Cited by 310
Interactions Between Microorganisms and Marine Microplastics: A Call for Research
Harrison, J. P., Sapp, M., Schratzberger, M., & Osborn, A. M. (2011) · Marine Technology Society Journal · doi:10.4031/mtsj.45.2.2 · Cited by 253
Self-citationFandino, L., Riemann, L., Steward, G. F., Long, R., & Azam, F. (2001) · Aquatic Microbial Ecology · doi:10.3354/ame023119 · Cited by 240
Latitudinal distribution of prokaryotic picoplankton populations in the Atlantic Ocean
Schattenhofer, M., Fuchs, B. M., Amann, R., Zubkov, M. V., Tarran, G. A., & Pernthaler, J. (2009) · Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.01929.x · Cited by 236
Increase of litter at the Arctic deep-sea observatory HAUSGARTEN.
Bergmann, M., & Klages, M. (2012) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.09.018 · Cited by 235
Microscale patchiness of bacterioplankton assemblage richness in seawater
Long, R., & Azam, F. (2001) · Aquatic Microbial Ecology · doi:10.3354/ame026103 · Cited by 210
Pierce, K. E., Harris, R., Larned, L., & Pokras, M. A. (2004) · Marine ornithology · doi:10.5038/2074-1235.32.2.623 · Cited by 184
Sekiguchi, T., Saika, A., Nomura, K., Watanabe, T., Watanabe, T., Fujimoto, Y., Enoki, M., Sato, T., Kato, C., & Kanehiro, H. (2011) · Polymer Degradation and Stability · doi:10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2011.03.004 · Cited by 168
Debris accumulation on oceanic island shores of the Scotia Arc, Antarctica
Convey, P., Barnes, D. K. A., & Morton, A. (2002) · Polar Biology · doi:10.1007/s00300-002-0391-x · Cited by 157
Webb, H. K., Crawford, R. J., Sawabe, T., & Ivanova, E. P. (2009) · Microbes and Environments · doi:10.1264/jsme2.me08538 · Cited by 142
Lyons, M. M., Ward, J. E., Gaff, H. D., Hicks, R. E., Drake, J. M., & Dobbs, F. (2010) · Aquatic Microbial Ecology · doi:10.3354/ame01417 · Cited by 127
Bacterial community dynamics during the winter–spring transition in the North Sea
Sapp, M., Wichels, A., Wiltshire, K. H., & Gerdts, G. (2006) · FEMS Microbiology Ecology · doi:10.1111/j.1574-6941.2006.00238.x · Cited by 124
Self-citationSeasonal Dynamics and Modeling of a Vibrio Community in Coastal Waters of the North Sea
Oberbeckmann, S., Fuchs, B. M., Meiners, M., Wichels, A., Wiltshire, K. H., & Gerdts, G. (2011) · Microbial Ecology · doi:10.1007/s00248-011-9990-9 · Cited by 119
Self-citationRomero, M., Avendaño-Herrera, R. E., Magariños, B., Cámara, M., & Otero, A. (2009) · FEMS Microbiology Letters · doi:10.1111/j.1574-6968.2009.01889.x · Cited by 103
Mechanism and Characterization of Polyamide 4 Degradation by Pseudomonas sp.
Yamano, N., Nakayama, A., Kawasaki, N., Yamamoto, N., & Aiba, S. (2008) · Journal of Polymers and the Environment · doi:10.1007/s10924-008-0090-y · Cited by 102
Plastic ingestion by Laysan Albatross chicks on Sand Island, Midway Atoll, in 1994 and 1995
Auman, H. J., Ludwig, J., Giesy, J. P., & Colborn, C. (1998) · eCite Digital Repository (University of Tasmania) · Cited by 92
Estuarine Litter at the River/Beach Interface in the Bristol Channel, United Kingdom
Williams, A. T., & Simmons, S. (1997) · Journal of Coastal Research · doi:10.1016/s0967-0653(98)80599-1 · Cited by 83
Beier, S., Witzel, K., & Marxsen, J. (2007) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.00327-07 · Cited by 76
Stolle, C., Labrenz, M., Meeske, C., & Jürgens, K. (2011) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.00042-11 · Cited by 56
Culture and Identification of Bacteria from Marine Biofilms
Lee, Y. K., Kwon, K.-K., Cho, K. H., Kim, H. W., Park, J. H., & Lee, H. K. (2003) · The Journal of Microbiology · Cited by 38
New approaches to improve the detection of eutrophication in UK coastal waters
Mills, D. K., Greenwood, N., Kröger, S., Devlin, M. J., Sivyer, D. B., Pearce, D., Cutchey, S. J., & Malcolm, S. J. (2004) · IEEE/OES Baltic International Symposium · doi:10.1109/baltic.2004.7296835 · Cited by 23
Johnson, M. T., Greenwood, N., Sivyer, D. B., Thomson, M., Reeve, A., Weston, K., & Jickells, T. (2012) · Biogeochemistry · doi:10.1007/s10533-012-9738-8 · Cited by 18
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Barnes, 2004, Natural and plastic floatsam stranding in the Indian Ocean, 193
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Rummel, C. D., Jahnke, A., Gorokhova, E., Kühnel, D., & Schmitt-Jansen, M. (2017) · Environmental Science & Technology Letters · doi:10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00164 · Cited by 1,444
Amaral-Zettler, L. A., Zettler, E. R., & Mincer, T. J. (2020) · Nature Reviews Microbiology · doi:10.1038/s41579-019-0308-0 · Cited by 1,407
Plastic rain in protected areas of the United States
Brahney, J., Hallerud, M., Heim, E., Hahnenberger, M., & Sukumaran, S. (2020) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aaz5819 · Cited by 1,237
Microplastic in Aquatic Ecosystems
Ivleva, N. P., Wiesheu, A. C., & Nießner, R. (2016) · Angewandte Chemie International Edition · doi:10.1002/anie.201606957 · Cited by 982
Dangerous hitchhikers? Evidence for potentially pathogenic Vibrio spp. on microplastic particles
Kirstein, I. V., Kirmizi, S., Wichels, A., Garin‐Fernandez, A., Erler, R., Löder, M. G. J., & Gerdts, G. (2016) · Marine Environmental Research · doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.07.004 · Cited by 945
“…reported high portions of these three polymers in the course of various samplings in marine and coastal environments which mirrors our results (Browne et al., 2010; Moret-Ferguson et al., 2010; Oberbeckmann et al., 2014) and furthermore reflect the usage of these polymers in the worldwide economy.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSelf-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Oberbeckmann, S., Loeder, M. G. J., Gerdts, G., & Osborn, A. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Hull (GB)
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Oberbeckmann, Sonja
- Venue
- FEMS Microbiology Ecology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2014-11-01
- Volume
- 90
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 478-492
- ISSN
- 0168-6496 (ISSN-L)
- 1574-6941
- OpenAlex
- W1839247734
- Cited by
- 540
- References
- 68
- Citations by year
- 2026: 38 · 2025: 63 · 2024: 70 · 2023: 56 · 2022: 86 · 2021: 62 · 2020: 68 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 3
- FWCI
- 9.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- FEMS Microbiology Ecology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RMIT Research Repository (RMIT University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung (Alfred-Wegener-Institut) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK Government
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Ocean Engineering › Marine Biology and Environmental Chemistry
- Keywords
- plastisphere, marine plastic pollution, biofilm, microbial community diversity, seasonal variation, spatial variability, polyethylene terephthalate, cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, diatoms, brown algae, North Sea
- MeSH terms
- Bacteria, Molecular Sequence Data, North Sea, Oceans and Seas, Plastics, Seasons, Seawater, Water Pollutants, Bacterial Physiological Phenomena, Biofilms, Eukaryota, Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
