Plastisphere
Plastic debris suspended in water and organisms which live in it / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The plastisphere is a human-made ecosystem consisting of organisms able to live on plastic waste. Plastic marine debris, most notably microplastics, accumulates in aquatic environments and serves as a habitat for various types of microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi.[1][2] As of 2022, an estimated 51 trillion microplastics are floating in the surface water of the world's oceans.[3] A single 5mm piece of plastic can host 1,000s of different microbial species.[4] Some marine bacteria can break down plastic polymers and use the carbon as a source of energy.
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Plastic pollution acts as a more durable "ship" than biodegradable material for carrying the organisms over long distances.[5][6] This long-distance transportation can move microbes to different ecosystems and potentially introduce invasive species[1] as well as harmful algae.[7] The microorganisms found on the plastic debris comprise an entire ecosystem of autotrophs, heterotrophs and symbionts.[8] The microbial species found within plastisphere differ from other floating materials that naturally occur (i.e., feathers and algae) due to plastic's unique chemical nature and slow speed of biodegradation. In addition to microbes, insects have come to flourish in areas of the ocean that were previously uninhabitable. The sea skater, for example, has been able to reproduce on the hard surface provided by the floating plastic.[9]