plastisphere

Definitions

The ecosystem on the surface of a piece of plastic (especially in a marine environment).

Equivalents

Examples

“ut those interested in smaller critters have⟳ been given a whole, new sphere—the plastisphere—to study⟳.”

“(The Plastisphere is one of the many industrial-natural ecosystems that characterize the Anthropocene.) Cleaning ocean plastics, even if it were technologically possible on a scale that would make⟳ a difference, would disrupt and destroy⟳ the life we would be trying to save⟳ in the first place⟳.”

“Freshwater and marine habitats share⟳ a number⟳ of features, but there are also differences between them that may affect⟳ the development and activities of plastisphere consortia.”

“Plastic in the ocean is constantly being degraded; even something as big and buoyant as a milk jug will eventually shed⟳ and splinter into microplastics. These plastics develop⟳ biofilms of distinct microbial communities — the “plastisphere,” said Linda Amaral-Zettler, a scientist at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research⟳, who coined the term. […] A sample of South Atlantic water containing plankton and microplastics. Ocean plastics commonly develop⟳ a filmy “plastisphere” of distinct microbial communities.”

CEFR level