Prof. Nathanael JIN Ling, Member of Research Institute for Future Food (RiFood), Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) and Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC), and Assistant Professor of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Department of Health Technology and Informatics, was recently interviewed by BBC magazine Discover Wildlife regarding the current state of ocean ecosystem.
Prof. Jin’s pioneering research has mapped microbial communities living on ocean plastics worldwide, revealing their remarkable consistency. He explains that plastics, far from being mere litter, serve as habitats for dense, distinctive biofilms, often hosting more microbes per gram than natural particles. Algae and fungi colonise these surfaces, creating functioning ecosystems with their own food webs and nutrient cycles.
Larger organisms, such as barnacles and invertebrates, are drawn to plastics by chemical cues, sometimes using plastics as nurseries. The “plastisphere” is actively reshaping ocean chemistry and facilitating the global dispersal of microbes, as plastics travel vast distances via currents and shipping. Prof. Jin’s research shows that plastics bridge previously isolated ecosystems, enabling land-to-sea transfer of microbes.
While many of these hitchhikers are harmless, others, like Vibrio bacteria and toxic algae, pose risks to marine life and humans. The plastisphere therefore carries profound ecological and health implications, underscoring the urgent need to understand manage its impact.
Online coverage:
BBC Wildlife - https://www.discoverwildlife.com/environment/plastiphere
金靈教授接受BBC《野生動物》專訪：塑膠圈重塑海洋生態系統
未來食品研究院、可持續城市發展研究院及精神健康研究中心成員，土木及環境工程學系及醫療科技及資訊學系助理教授金靈，近日接受BBC《野生動物》雜誌專訪，探討海洋生態系統的現況。
金教授的開創性研究繪製了全球海洋塑膠上微生物群落的分布圖，揭示了其驚人的一致性。他指出，塑膠並非單純的垃圾，亦是密集且獨特生物膜群落的棲息地，每克塑膠所承載的微生物數量往往超過天然顆粒。藻類和真菌會在這些表面上定殖，形成具有自身食物網和營養循環的功能性生態系統。
較大型的生物，如藤壺和無脊椎動物，會被化學信號吸引，有時甚至將塑膠作為繁殖棲地。隨著塑膠經由洋流和航運在全球漂移，「塑膠圈」正顯著重塑海洋化學，並促進微生物的全球擴散。金教授的研究顯示，塑膠成為了連結原本彼此隔離的生態系統的橋樑，使陸地微生物得以進入海洋。
雖然部分隨塑膠擴散的微生物無害，但弧菌和有毒藻類等則可能對海洋生物及人類構成風險。因此，「塑膠圈」的生態及公共健康影響深遠，極需深入研究及妥善管理。
網上報導：
BBC - https://www.discoverwildlife.com/environment/plastiphere（只有英文）
