Scientists Discover Thriving Colonies of Microbes in Ocean 'Plastisphere'

[knocker]

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.â€

 

http://www.whoi.edu/main/news-releases?tid=3622&cid=171469

[Gray-Wolf]

I'm sure nature does her level best to turn adversity into advantage but there must be limits to just how far she can bend? I'd hate to think that the discovery of such a thing leads to folk veiwing such pollution as less of an problem?

[SomeLikeItHot]

I'm sure nature does her level best to turn adversity into advantage but there must be limits to just how far she can bend? I'd hate to think that the discovery of such a thing leads to folk veiwing such pollution as less of an problem?

I doubt there are limits, just a question of rate of responsiveness and changing ecology.

 

However I think that evolving an ocean full of plastic devouring microbes may not be something we necessarily want to encourage.