Plastic in our oceans has become a major problem , with microplastics making their elbow room everywhere , from inseafoodto polluting theArctic . The seafloor is often the final resting stead for plastics that make their way into the ocean . A new written report published inScientific Reportshas revealed that the seagrassPosidonia oceanicamay facilitate reduce the burden of these credit card in the ocean , trammel it and causing it to be dampen ashore .
lavish meadows ofP. oceanicaare found in the sea of the Mediterranean and southerly Australia , 0.5 to 40 meters ( 1.6 to 131 invertebrate foot ) underwater . They are an authoritative part of the ecosystem , improving urine tone and form refuge and nursery sphere for a variety of coinage . They also absorb carbon dioxide and help protect the coast . P. oceanicaloses its leaf in fall , which are then washed onto beaches by waves and currents . The leafage cocktail dress remain attached to the root word , let go of fiber that loop to form spheres of fabric called " Neptune testicle " . These clod are also lap ashore , mainly during stormy weather .
research worker examined Neptune balls and seagrass leaves on four beach in Mallorca , the prominent of Spain ’s Balearic Islands . This placement was chosen as the nearshore has the highest localization of floating plastic debris in the Mediterranean sea , and also has mountain of seagrass meadows . They found that the globe and leaves contain credit card .
Around 1,470 pieces of charge plate debris were found per kilo of Neptune Ball , with an middling size of 9.48 mm ( 0.37 inch ) . The types of credit card find in the balls were PET , PVC , PE , PP , and PA . There was less plastic find in loose seagrass leaf than in the Neptune balls , 613 piece per kilogram , mostly the low - denseness polymer PVC , PE , and PP .
The researchers theorize that seagrass hayfield trap credit card on the seabed , which is then ejected and washed ashore , escaping the sea . They also claim that Neptune bollock may protect pliant pieces from abrasion and UV radiation , preventing them from breaking down into even smaller atom . Each yr , 867 million plastic item may be ensnare in Neptune chunk alone . These results are an contention for the conservation of seagrass meadows , which , according to the study , in the Mediterranean Sea have decreased by 13 - 50 percent since 1960 .
