Impact of polystyrene microbeads on the biomass, biochemical constituents, and pigment levels of marine diatoms

Key Points

• Diatoms show reduced biomass when exposed to polystyrene microbeads, indicating potential harm.
• Levels of specific pigments decline by 30% in diatoms after exposure to microbeads, revealing significant impacts.
• Assessment using chemical analysis of biomass, pigments, and biochemical constituents highlights numerous changes.
• This work underlines the ecological risks posed by plastic pollution in marine environments, calling for further investigations.