Аннотация:Since 1950s the World Ocean is being affected by new type of contamination – plastics. Nowadays this substrate becomes an inherent and constant part of the sea. It forms up to 80 % of the marine litter that floats on the surface or submerges in deeper layers of the ocean. The plastic marine litter, or debris, could be considered as a component of anthropal, and sometimes because of its huge accumulation, the microparticles of plastics (less than 5 mm) is called plastisphere (Amaral-Zettler, 2015). The researches of plastic marine debris by DNA analysis revealed the set of microorganisms (mainly bacteria, but also diatom algae) that is unique for main mid-ocean gyres. It was mentioned the variety of biodiversity in different parts of the ocean (Zettler, 2013).
The community of marine organisms that drift on the surface of marine litter is called neistoplastics. Kiessling with co-authors (2015) counted 387 species (including macroorganisms) on floated litter. In the Black Sea on the polyethylene that was caught near the coast we revealed 6 species of Cyanobacteria and 8 species of diatoms (Sapozhnikov et al., 2018). The most abundant diatom species were Cocconeis aff. neothumensis Krammer and Mastogloia lanceolata Thwaites ex W.Smith. The presence of these two genus of diatom algae is usually indicated on plastics (Carson et al., 2013). When floating on the surface of sea the debris began to degrade under the influence of insolation, high temperatures, wave activities, and macroorganisms. It begins to separate on smaller fragments turning to microplastics with time. Nevertheless, some big particles of plastics may sink and become a part of benthic assemblages (benthoplastics) providing the new type of substrate and changing the bottom landscapes. In the North West Black Sea (Gulf of Odessa) on the depth of 2-6 m we found 7 species of macrozoobenthic organisms (Mitylus galloprovincialis, Mytilaster lineatus, Amphibalanus improvises, Gastropoda, Bryozoa, crustaceans, worms), 14 groups of meiobenthic organisms, 6 species of seaweeds, 46 species of microalgae (including cyanobacteria) that dwell on the surface of plastic bags and bottles (Snigirova, Kurakin, 2019). The pull of species that directly colonize plastic substrate was formed by diatoms Cocconeis scutellum Ehr., C. placentula Ehr., C. aff. neothumensis, Amphora ovalis (Kütz.) Kütz. To compare with, in the Mediterranean Sea (near the Crete coast) on the benthic samples of polyethylene more than 30 species of diatoms and 8 species of seaweeds (including 2 species of cortical red algae that formed the community) were revealed (Sapozhnikov et al., 2019).
In the area of Zmeiniy Island on the depth of 9 m in the water column we sampled the plastic bottle that was attached by the cable on 12 m and fully covered with marine biofouling (up to 4,5 kg per item) representing the cenosis of Mitylus galloprovincialis. Other species Mytilaster lineatus, Amphibalanus improvises, Membranipora tenuis were massively presented.
Under the zoofouling we identified the threads of Leptolyngbia, colonies of Navicula sp., Berkeleya sp., separate fragments contained scattering of Cyclotella baltica, Cocconeis aff. neothumensis. Other genus of diatoms Licmophora, Amphora, Halamphora, Nitzschia were also presented.