Plastic pollution harms oxygen-producing bacteria [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Plastic pollution harms oxygen-producing bacteria
Published Today By David McNamee Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey

Did you know that a species of bacteria that resides in the ocean is responsible for producing 10% of the oxygen that we breathe in? Now, a new study has found that the plastic polluting the world's oceans is negatively affecting the oxygen levels that these bacteria produce.

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers from Macquarie University in Australia have examined the effects that plastics have on a type of photosynthetic marine bacteria called Prochlorococcus.

They have published their findings in the journal Communications Biology.

"These tiny microorganisms are critical to the marine food web, contribute to carbon cycling, and are thought to be responsible for up to 10% of the total global oxygen production," says co-author Lisa Moore.

Plastics will outweigh fish in the ocean
Up to 12.7 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year, posing a risk to the nearly 200 marine species — from mammals and birds to fish and invertebrates — that may ingest it.

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https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325264.php