Understanding Interactions between Plastics, Marine Sponges and their associated Microbiota
Organization information
Pure Ocean
Location: Paris, France
Summary
Pure Ocean supports ambitious and innovative research projects in favour of biodiversity and the protection of marine ecosystems.
Purpose of this project: investigate the ability of marine sponges to process organic compounds present in plastics or their substitutes (compostable materials) and their potential effect on the sponge-microbiota symbiosis.
Plastic waste is one of the greatest threats our oceans are facing with a projected tenfold increase in the marine environment by 2025. Micro-plastics are an “invisible” fraction of this pollution, yet they are becoming more and more abundant, entering the food chain with unknown consequences on sea life and human health. Another “invisible” fraction of this pollution is that plastics, in contact with water, can release chemical compounds including organics that might interfere the natural biogeochemical cycles mediated by organisms and their microbiota. Preserving sponge communities and the services they provide offers a natural solution in contrast to the outstanding cost of the biotechnological strategies to remove or mitigate plastic pollution
Pure Ocean is an NGO based in Marseille and Lorient, France. Pure Ocean mobilises civil society, in France and worldwide, in order to support ambitious and innovative projects to protect and restore biodiversity and fragile marine ecosystems.
TGE Partner: Fondation de France
Project locations
Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey