White Pollution: Biodiversity and hazards in marine plastisphere

The term white pollution describes the various types of large number of plastics products in the ecosystem worldwide. Because plastics material and its by-products are difficult to degrade, they remained constantly present in the soils, water bodies and in the atmosphere. Persistent plastic materials undergo fragmentation and dispersion through currents and wind, which also leads to their limited degradation. As a result, marine, soils and atmospheric environments worldwide contain an abundance of plastic particles. In contrast to the effects of ingestion or entanglement observed in larger organisms, the interaction between microorganisms and plastics is distinctly different. Plastics serve as habitats and swiftly attract dense biofilms composed microorganisms on their surfaces, known as the "Plastisphere" This Plastisphere represents a portion of the global ecosystem characterized by floating plastic debris and the associated microbes and other organisms.
Plastisphere may deplete phosphorus, stripping it away from other organisms. Additionally, the plastisphere could act as a reservoir for the transmission of human diseases since fish and shellfish consume minute plastic fragments harboring Vibrio and cholera-like bacteria, leading to foodborne illnesses. Due to the long persistence of plastic, microbes within the plastisphere can be transported over significant distances, presenting a potential source of invasive species. If these microbes are transferred across various ecosystems within the ocean, air, and soil, they could impact native microbial populations and the larger organisms that depend on them. Additionally, the plastisphere has the potential to modify plastic debris, which can alter its impact on an ecosystem, making it either more or less harmful. As a society, we acknowledge that plastic marine debris poses a predicament. However, we lack solutions to even the most basic inquiries, such as the quantity and nature of plastic present in the ocean, soils, air and their origin. The microorganisms that constitute the plastisphere may influence the destiny and repercussions of plastic within marine ecosystems. Microscopic and molecular sequence data demonstrate that the plastisphere is composed of primary producers, heterotrophs, symbionts, and predators. The interactions between phytoplankton and bacteria are crucial for facilitating the ecological cycles of the Earth and shaping the structure of food webs in the oceans. This interconnection between autotrophic organisms and other microorganisms is also evident within the plastisphere.
This book publication going by the available facts and global trends of plastics production, therefore addresses the new emerging occurrence, distribution and degradation of marine white plastisphere, plastisphere in soil plant uptake and the role in food security and the sources, prevalence and effects of the atmospheric plastisphere to humans and other organisms.

List of contents

An insight to prevalence and distribution of Plastisphere in marine.- Plastisphere, microbes and water quality.- Marine white pollution, higher animals, plants and food chain.- Degradation of marine microplastics and characterization technologies.- Plastisphere, Marine snow, carbon and ocean life.- Biodiversity and hazards in marine plastisphere in polar regions.- The plastisphere in soil, an independent and vast cosmos.- Microbial ecology of the plastisphere in soil.- Plastisphere and soil biodiversity.- Plastisphere, plants and food chain crisis.- Degradation and characterization technologies of plastisphere in soil.- Plastisphere and environmental sustainability.- Sources and prevalent of plastisphere in the atmosphere.- Plastisphere and air quality.- The plastisphere, an underappreciated origin of N2O emissions.- Health cries of plastisphere exposure.- Aerosol and plastisphere pollution.- Characterization technologies of Plastisphere in atmosphere.- Future guidelines of white pollution in the environment.

About the author

1. Sesan Abiodun Aransiola, obtained his first degree (B.Tech) and Master Degree (M.Tech) from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria at the Department of Microbiology in 2009 and Environmental Microbiology in 2014 respectively.  He had a Ph.D., Degree in Environmental Microbiology in the same institution. To his credit, there are over 70 publications including book chapters, research and review articles of international repute. He has co-edited scientific books of global interest. Also, he is a Lecturer at the Department of Microbiology, University of Abuja and also has worked as an assistant chief scientific officer at Bioresources Development Centre, National Biotechnology Development Agency, Nigeria. His area of interest is Environmental Microbiology with research area in Phytoremediation, Vermicomposting, Biosorption and Bioremediation of soil contaminated Environment. Abiodun is a member of Nigerian Society for Microbiology and American Society for Microbiology among others.
2. Babafemi Raphael Babaniyi, is a graduate of Industrial Chemistry (B.Sc) at Caritas University Amorji-Nike, Emene, Enugu State, Nigeria in 2008. Later had his Master Degree (M.Tech) in Environmental Chemistry at Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria in 2021. Currently, He is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Chemistry (Environmental Chemistry) Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. He had over 25 publications including book chapters and articles of international repute. Additionally, he is an assistant chief scientific officer at Bioresources Development Centre, National Biotechnology Development Agency, Nigeria. His area of interest is Environmental Chemistry with research area in Environmental Chemistry, Green Chemistry, Phytoremediation, Chemical Biology, Environmental Science, Bioremediation of soil contaminated Environment, plant protection and animal health, Environmental impact assessment and Biodegradable plastics.
3. Naga Raju Maddela received his M.Sc. (1996–1998) and Ph.D. (2012) in Microbiology from Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anantapuramu, India. During his doctoral program in the area of Environmental Microbiology, he investigated the effects of industrial effluents/insecticides on soil microorganisms and their biological activities and he is working as Faculty in Microbiology since 1998, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students. He worked on Prometeo Investigator (fellowship received from SENESCYT) at Universidad Estatal Amazónica, Ecuador during 2013-15, received "Postdoctoral Fellowship" (2016–2018) from Sun Yat-sen University, China. He also received external funding from "China Postdoctoral Science Foundation" in 2017, internal funding from "Universidad Técnica de Manabí" in 2020. He participated in national/ international conferences, and presented research data in China, Cuba, Ecuador, India and Singapore. Currently, he is working as a Full Professor at the Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Técnica de Manabí, Portoviejo, Ecuador. He has been actively publishing scientific articles, books (authored and edited) and chapters since 2007. As of now, he published 70 articles, 12 books and 40 book chapters.
4. Olugbenga Solomon Bello is a Professor of Physical and Environmental Chemistry in the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. He completed his PhD in Physical Chemistry at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 2008. He was the recipient of the 2019 Nigerian Academy of Science Gold Medal Award in Physical Sciences. He received the African Union Third World Academy of Science (AU-TWAS) Young Scientists National Award in 2012 and the Prof. Kayode Adebowale Young Scientist Prize in Chemical Sciences organized by Nigerian Young Academy in 2016. He benefited from the USM-TWAS Postdoctoral and Visiting Scholar Fellowships at the School of Chemical Engineering University of Science Malaysia. He won TWAS research grant (2012 and 2015) and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) Institutional Based Research (IBR) in 2016. He was nominated and recognized as one of the “175 Faces of Chemistry” worldwide by the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK. He has published over 150 articles in peer reviewed national and international journals of high repute. He was listed among the 2% most cited Scientists in the world by a group of Stanford University researchers. His research interest is focused on adsorption of heavy metals, dyes, pharmaceuticals and pesticides from wastewatersusing agricultural waste materials as adsorbents in lieu of expensive commercial activated carbon to bio-remediate the environment. His accomplishment, as well as the significant impact of his research findings has contributed immensely to environmental protection and conservation. It has positively impacted stakeholders like environmentalists, water purification experts and those in the medical disciplines. He has mentored several postgraduate students. He has delivered keynote and lead papers at national and international conferences. He has served as external examiners and assessors to many universities at national and international levels. He has served on various committees as chairman and members at the departmental, faculty and university levels. He is the Managing Editor of Science Focus Journal published by the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso

Summary

The term white pollution describes the various types of large number of plastics products in the ecosystem worldwide. Because plastics material and its by-products are difficult to degrade, they remained constantly present in the soils, water bodies and in the atmosphere. Persistent plastic materials undergo fragmentation and dispersion through currents and wind, which also leads to their limited degradation. As a result, marine, soils and atmospheric environments worldwide contain an abundance of plastic particles. In contrast to the effects of ingestion or entanglement observed in larger organisms, the interaction between microorganisms and plastics is distinctly different. Plastics serve as habitats and swiftly attract dense biofilms composed microorganisms on their surfaces, known as the "Plastisphere" This Plastisphere represents a portion of the global ecosystem characterized by floating plastic debris and the associated microbes and other organisms.
Plastisphere may deplete phosphorus, stripping it away from other organisms. Additionally, the plastisphere could act as a reservoir for the transmission of human diseases since fish and shellfish consume minute plastic fragments harboring Vibrio and cholera-like bacteria, leading to foodborne illnesses. Due to the long persistence of plastic, microbes within the plastisphere can be transported over significant distances, presenting a potential source of invasive species. If these microbes are transferred across various ecosystems within the ocean, air, and soil, they could impact native microbial populations and the larger organisms that depend on them. Additionally, the plastisphere has the potential to modify plastic debris, which can alter its impact on an ecosystem, making it either more or less harmful. As a society, we acknowledge that plastic marine debris poses a predicament. However, we lack solutions to even the most basic inquiries, such as the quantity and nature of plastic present in the ocean, soils, air and their origin. The microorganisms that constitute the plastisphere may influence the destiny and repercussions of plastic within marine ecosystems. Microscopic and molecular sequence data demonstrate that the plastisphere is composed of primary producers, heterotrophs, symbionts, and predators. The interactions between phytoplankton and bacteria are crucial for facilitating the ecological cycles of the Earth and shaping the structure of food webs in the oceans. This interconnection between autotrophic organisms and other microorganisms is also evident within the plastisphere.
This book publication going by the available facts and global trends of plastics production, therefore addresses the new emerging occurrence, distribution and degradation of marine white plastisphere, plastisphere in soil plant uptake and the role in food security and the sources, prevalence and effects of the atmospheric plastisphere to humans and other organisms.

Product details

• Assisted by: Sesan Abiodun Aransiola (Editor), Babafemi Raphael Babaniyi (Editor), Olugbenga Solomon Bello (Editor), Naga Raju Maddela (Editor), Nag Raju Maddela et al (Editor), Babafemi Raphael Babaniyi (Editor)
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 19.08.2025
• EAN: 9783031955464
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3195546-4
• No. of pages: 500
• Illustrations: Approx. 500 p.
• Series: Environmental Contamination Remediation and Management
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences; Ökologie, Biosphäre, Pollution, Ecosystems, Plastic debris, plastic in ocean, Contamination, Plastiphere