Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are remarkable microorganisms known for their resilience to diverse environments.

The MicroplastiX project carried some in situ experiments in the Port of Galway, where nine polymers were incubated over one year period. This experiment was replicated in parallel in France, Italy and Brazil. Of all these sites, Ireland was the only one that recorded the presence of tardigrades, making this the first report of these organisms attached to the biofilm (also known as plastisphere) growing around the submerged post consumer polypropylene (PP).

More details on this paper can be found at  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116071