Plastic pollution has become an unfortunate fact of life all over the world— including in the oceans. While all that junk floating around can pose a serious threat to many animals, a new study finds some species may have actually turned it into an entirely new ecosystem!
The North Pacific "Garbage Patch" is a huge area in the ocean where a lot of plastic waste gets stuck. However, it's not just wastes that get caught up in this mess. Researchers from Georgetown University found that many sea creatures like jellyfish, snails, and barnacles also live there.
In 2018 and 2019, scientists collected 105 pieces of plastic from the patch, and found 46 different species of invertebrates (无脊椎动物) living on them. About 80% of those species normally live near the coast rather than in the middle of an ocean. The researchers also found that these species have been breeding on the patch— meaning there may now be a permanent community of coastal species in the middle of the ocean.
Lead author Linsey Haram said that it's not yet known how this will affect the ocean ecosystem. But she said the coastal species are likely competing for food with ocean species, and they may also be eating each other.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one of the five areas of garbage that have formed in the middle of huge circular ocean currents called gyres (环流). Another garbage patch is in the South Pacific, two are in the Atlantic Ocean, and the fifth is in the Indian Ocean.
A 2018 study of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch found that about one- third of garbage that could be linked to Japan. Up to 20% of garbage added since 2011 was created by the huge tsunami that hit northern Japan that year, the study said.
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