Image

Hitching a Ride

February 7, 2019

An image from a high-powered microscope reveals a microbe that has colonized a microplastic fragment collected in the North Atlantic Ocean. By hitching a ride, such marine microbes entice fish to ingest microplastics. Scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are embarking on a long-term study of marine microplastics to answer a variety of questions, including how microplastics may be affecting the health of marine life and humans, and where these particles end up in the global ocean. (Photo by Erik Zettler and Linda Amaral-Zettler)