Persistent Microplastics in Ecosystem: The Role of Microalgae-Microplastic Interactions

Plastic pollution is an emerging global concern. The rise in use and lack of better recycling management of plastic result in its accumulation in water bodies and lands and hence also affects the organisms at each trophic level. The long-term persistence of plastics in the ecosystem results in the degradation and leaching of plastics, resulting in the formation of microplastics with a size range of micrometers. Microalgae produce more than half the amount of oxygen. Understanding the interaction between microplastics and microalgae is important for understanding the build-up and aggregation of microplastics in larger living organisms at the grassroots level. Microplastics and microalgae affect each other’s properties. In the present chapter, our primary objective is to impart knowledge pertaining to the genesis of microplastics, a novel concept of epimicroplastic algae, the colonization of microplastics by microalgae, the detrimental effects of microplastics on microalgae, the bioavailability of microplastics, and how microplastics persist in the ecosystem and are transferred to higher organisms.