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Tardigrades in the marine plastisphere: New hitchhikers surfing plastics
Summary
This study documents tardigrades — microscopic aquatic invertebrates — colonizing the surface biofilms of marine plastic debris, establishing them as previously unrecognized members of the plastisphere community. The finding suggests that plastic particles can serve as rafts dispersing tardigrades across ocean distances far beyond their typical range, with potential consequences for marine biodiversity. This adds to growing evidence that plastic pollution reshapes microbial and microinvertebrate communities in the ocean.
Tardigrades are remarkable microorganisms known for their extraordinary resilience in diverse environments, including extreme conditions such as outer space. They are known for their interactions with natural substrates in terrestrial and aquatic systems, but have remained largely unexplored in relation to marine plastics. This study aims to investigate the colonization of plastics, ranging from fossil fuel-based to bioplastics, in the coastal zones of four countries (Brazil, Ireland, France and Italy). Here, we report the first documented occurrence of tardigrades colonizing plastic substrates. We identified five amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) belonging to the Tardigrada phylum, specifically in a post-consumer polypropylene, in the coastal zone of Galway, Ireland. This discovery raises questions about the characteristics of different plastics influencing on tardigrades' adhesion. Tardigrades hitchhiking on plastics in the oceans could expand their habitat range, possibly displacing native species and altering trophic interactions, with potential consequences for the overall biodiversity.