show Abstracthide AbstractIn this study, 16S rRNA gene amplicon data (V3-V4 region) was utilized to obtain first insights into the bacterial colonization patterns on various synthetic polymer types: high-density polyethylene (HDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyamide (PA), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) incubated for five weeks in the upper one meter of the coastal water column in four distinct locations (Cape Verde, Chile, Japan, South Africa).