Scientists have discovered a diverse multitude of microbes
colonizing and thriving on flecks of plastic that have polluted the oceans—a
vast new human-made flotilla of microbial communities that they have dubbed the
“plastisphere.”
In a study recently published online in Environmental
Science & Technology, the scientists say the plastisphere represents a
novel ecological habitat in the ocean and raises a host of questions: How will
it change environmental conditions for marine microbes, favoring some that
compete with others? How will it change the overall ocean ecosystem and affect
larger organisms? How will it change where microbes, including pathogens, will
be transported in the ocean?