Confirm the uniqueness of plastisfare microorganisms

2013/07/23 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ekologia
• Mikrobiologia
• Ingurumena

Scientists have called plastisfera the ecosystems formed by small fragments of plastic floating on the marine surface. In fact, some US marine laboratories have analyzed plastic fragments from the North Atlantic, in which more than a thousand microorganisms have been found, some previously unidentified.

The study was published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. According to the article, most of these plastic parts are millimetric and the communities that develop in them have demonstrated their uniqueness. According to the researchers, the characteristics of plastics are very different from those of other materials floating in the sea (feathers, pieces of wood, algae...), so it is not surprising the growth of other living beings in plastisfare. For example, some of these microorganisms have been shown to be able to degrade plastic. But harmful species for human health, such as Vibrio bacteria, also coexist with them, for which plastic fragments are an appropriate means of transport.