Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch

[DeepFrz]

Interesting site.
https://www.lifewithoutplastic.com/store/ca/information

[GordMay]

And in related news:
➥ Ocean 'conveyor belt' brings billions of plastic particles into Arctic waters - Technology & Science - CBC News

[GordMay]

Coastal species persist on high seas on floating plastic debris

On April 17, scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), and the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa, published their findings [1] that a surprising number of coastal marine species are now surviving, and reproducing, on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch [North Pacific Subtropical Gyre].

According to the researchers, the findings [1] suggest that boundaries between coastal and open ocean lifeforms, established for millions of years, are rapidly changing, due to human-made pollution.

“We were extremely surprised to find 37 different invertebrate species that normally live in coastal waters … not only surviving on the plastic but also reproducing,” said lead author Linsey Haram, in a news release [2].

While scientists already knew organisms, including some coastal species, colonized marine plastic debris, scientists were unaware until now that established coastal communities could persist in the open ocean. These findings identify a new human-caused impact on the ocean, documenting the scale and potential consequences that were not previously understood.

“The Hawaiian Islands are neighbored in the northeast by the North Pacific garbage patch,” said Nikolai Maximenko, co-author and senior researcher at the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. “Debris that breaks off from this patch constitutes the majority of debris arriving on Hawaiian beaches and reefs. In the past, the fragile marine ecosystems of the islands were protected by the very long distances from coastal communities of Asia and North America. The presence of coastal species persisting in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre near Hawai‘i is a game changer that indicates that the islands are at an increased risk of colonization by invasive species.”

[1] “Extent and reproduction of coastal species on plastic debris in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre” ~ by Linsey E. Haram et al
Open Access ➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-01997-y

[2] “Coastal species persist on high seas on floating plastic debris” ~ by University of Hawaii at Manoa
Press Release ➥ https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0417142539.htm
➥ https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/986356

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by GordMay

the islands are at an increased risk of colonization by invasive species.

Didn't that start happening with Capt. Cook?

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Bowdrie

Didn't that start happening with Capt. Cook?

Or perhaps with Juan Gaetano, over 200 years earlier (1555) than James Cook (1778).

But actually, with the first permanent human settlers - the Polynesians, from between 400 & 1200 AD.