plastisphere

thumb|upright=1.2|A colony of limpets attached to a diving mask, found washed ashore on a beach

The plastisphere is a human-made ecosystem consisting of organisms able to live on plastic waste. Plastic marine debris, most notably microplastics, accumulates in aquatic environments and serves as a habitat for various types of microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi. As of 2022, an estimated 51 trillion microplastics are floating in the surface water of the world's oceans. A single 5mm piece of plastic can host thousands of different microbial species. Some marine bacteria can break down plastic polymers and use the carbon as a source of energy.