Scientists have found that cleaning water from plastic can lead to the destruction of the fragile ecosystem that has developed in remote areas of the Pacific Ocean.
The fact is that garbage patches have become a real haven for many organisms. Thus, if you clean the ocean too hard, you can inadvertently damage important food chains.
In general, garbage patches were discovered back in the 1990s. They consisted of plastic bottles, fishing tackle, as well as household items that the water once carried away from the shore. Surprisingly, all this has become a home for microorganisms.
For example, after the earthquake in Japan in 2011, on numerous debris that floated into the ocean, researchers found 381 species of microorganisms. In 2020, scientists found objects on which overseas residents lived.
The most amazing thing is that individuals not only survived on garbage islands, but also multiplied, like, for example, anemones. In a scientific paper published in the journal PLOS Biology, scientists led by Rebecca Helm from Georgetown University in the USA noted that garbage islands can be neuston concentrators no worse than the Sargasso Sea and play the same important role in the ecosystem.
In addition, the researchers noticed an unusual trend: the more plastic, the more neuston groups are present on it. RIA News .
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
