Association of benthic macroinvertebrate organisms with plastic waste in small urban lakes

Most research on plastic waste has focused on lotic environments, with limited knowledge of still-water (lentic) ecosystems, especially small urban lakes. This study aimed to identify benthic macroinver tebrate communities associated with plastic waste and examine key factors regulating their structure. Conducted over 3 months in five small urban lakes, the research employed transects to collect benthic macroinvertebrates across 1 m 2 areas. A total of three sampling repetitions were performed at each site in inlet and outlet. The result showed that diversity based on the Shannon-Weiner index ranged from 0.3 to 3.07 bits, correlating with high plastic waste mass and organic matter enrichment. Plastic waste disrupted ideal habitats for collector-gatherers, although other benthic groups like scrapers persisted. Despite the adverse conditions, these species adapted and dominated the sediments of small urban lakes, heavily contaminated by plastic waste and organic matter. This research highlights the significant impact of plastic pollution on benthic macroinvertebrate diversity and community structure in urban lentic environments, emphasising the need for targeted conservation and pollution mitigation strategies