Plastic trash in oceans 'beneficial for water striders'

London, May 9 (ANI): In a new study, scientists have tried to find out how the Great Pacific Garbage Patch affects local ecosystems.

Vast amounts of plastic have been dumped into the ocean over the last few decades. Although bottles and bags are obvious, the majority is made up of fragments that are less than 5 millimetres across.

Much of this ""microplastic" ends up in the Garbage Patch, Newscisntist reported.

For the study, Miriam Goldstein and colleagues from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, monitored the Pacific pelagic water strider (Halobates sericeus).

Between 1972 and 2010 the amount of microplastic in the Garbage Patch increased by two orders of magnitude. Over the same period, the water striders became significantly more abundant.

According to the team, they lay their eggs on hard surfaces, so the microplastics came in handy.

Richard Thompson from of Plymouth University, UK said that the plastic is effectively creating a new habitat and there will be knock-on effects. (ANI)