Scientists say one of the largest patches of pollution on the planet has become a substitute environment for dozens of species, generating questions about what this means for the ocean and the coast.
"And the thing that's really interesting about the garbage patch, is it's essentially recreated a coastline, a floating coastline that has that three-dimensional structure that a lot of these coastal species depend on," Dr. Zabin said. "And it's sort of become a substitute environment for them."
A substitute environment made up of an estimated 80,000 tons of plastic, fishing nets and trash floating in the Pacific. Mary Crowley directs, which organizes the clean-up missions, which have now expanded into an unexpected program of scientific research, and collecting specimens. "We've discovered a tremendous amount on the expeditions we've done in terms of the composition of things that are out in the gyre," Crowley said. "I mean, it's amazing, the diversity of items. And then, you know, if you look closer, you can see things that are growing out there"
Growing, and in some cases thriving. Back at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Dr. Zabin is helping to identify specimens from what are believed to be at least 46 different species. Everything from tiny crustaceans to larger fish. And floating along with them are several critical questions. If those mounds of plastic can support life, could they also spread quickly into the marine food chain? Or perhaps carry invasive species from one continent to another.
In the meantime, Crowley says her organization is hoping to add a new vessel in the near future, joining a fleet that now has a dual mission: to help understand the ecological effects of a massive floating garbage patch while at the same time working to clean it up.& Evolution by author Linsey Haram, Ph.D., then with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Tiburon, biologist Jim Carlton, Ph.D., of Williams College/Mystic Seaport Museum, Nikolai Maximenko, Ph.D.
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