These are macroplastics, sure the pieces are small but they aren’t bundling up microscopic plastic pieces let alone nanoplastics. This ecological disaster has no end in sight and only gets worse as plastics break down

I had no idea about the naturally occurring phenomenon of Neptune balls, cool little ecology lesson there! And then the bad news…

This is at a time when seagrasses are in global decline. One study found that the global area covered by seagrass had declined by 29% since the late 19th Century. Seagrasses are at risk from poor water quality, coastline development, invasive species, rising ocean temperatures, and rising sea levels. In the eastern Mediterranean, Posidonia oceanica is facing a persistent and increasing threat from heatwaves and industrial pollution. A related species in Australia, Posidonia australis, is also in decline despite conservation efforts.