Plastic waste floating in the sea functions as a 'raft' that carries marine life
Innumerable garbage generated by the disposal of resources is drifting in the ocean, and the problem of marine pollution is being complained all over the world. A new study investigating such garbage in the ocean has revealed that marine organisms are using garbage to expand their habitat.
Emergence of a neopelagic community through the establishment of coastal species on the high seas | Nature Communications
Sea Life Is Colonizing Islands of Plastic Garbage In the Ocean, Scientists Say
https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxddmb/sea-life-is-colonizing-islands-of-plastic-garbage-in-the-ocean-scientists-say
Lindsey Haram of Williams University in the United States noted that marine life along the coast of Japan had adhered to a large amount of garbage that had washed ashore in Hawaii and the west coast of the United States after the Great East Japan Earthquake. He was interested in the fact that the creatures traveled a distance of 6000 kilometers over the years and were breeding again.
Therefore, Haram et al. Collected 103 tons of marine plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is a particularly easy-to-collect area in the central North Pacific Ocean. When I examined these plastics, I found many species that live in coastal areas such as sea anemones and shrimp, and it is said that these organisms not only adhere to the plastic but also breed on the plastic. It was confirmed.
The open ocean was supposed to be a food-poor environment for these coastal species, but since it is thought that they were able to secure enough food to succeed in breeding, garbage flowed into the food-rich waters, or the garbage itself feeds. Haram and colleagues say they are investigating more closely whether it acted like a attracting coral reef.
Garbage can also threaten the survival of native species by expanding the habitat of coastal species. 'The global plastic pollution crisis is reshaping the open-sea biological community, and it's unclear how changes in this community will affect marine ecosystems,' said Haram.
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