Coastal species found thousands of miles out to sea

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch might not seem like a desirable address, but coastal creatures are thriving on the floating rubbish tip, thousands of miles from home.

Researchers from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre found 484 marine organisms living on plastic items recovered from the gyre, of which 80 per cent should naturally live at the coast.

The creatures, which range from tiny shrimp-like crustaceans, to molluscs and corals, are now reproducing in the garbage patch, having floated there on plastic debris borne on ocean currents.

Experts believe they may represent a completely new ecological niche, which they have dubbed “neopelagic” meaning “new open sea” creatures.

Writing in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, the team concluded: “The plastisphere may now provide extraordinary new opportunities for coastal species to expand populations into the open ocean.

“Our results demonstrate that the oceanic environment and floating plastic habitat are clearly hospitable to coastal species.

“The historical lack of available (rafting material) limited the colonisation of the open ocean by coastal species rather than physiological or ecological constraints as previously assumed.”

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world, located between Hawaii and California resembling a cloudy soup intermixed with larger items like fishing gear and shoes. 

Species capable of reproducing on plastic debris

Marine species are known to hitch rides on natural rafts of floating vegetation, wood or pumice and are often found washing up on faraway shores. But natural rafts tend to decompose quickly, limiting the spread of animals from their homes. 

However plastic can survive for decades before it disintegrates into microplastics, providing a durable boat for peripatetic species.

In recent years, scientists have discovered that creatures are also travelling on plastic, but it was unknown whether these long-lived floating islands could form new habitats for creatures that ordinarily live near land. 

To find out, the team collected 105 items from the garbage patch, including plastic bottles, buoys, buckets, jugs, and crates, and discovered coastal creatures on seven in 10 pieces of debris. 

The number of coastal species identified rafting on plastic was over three times greater than that of species that normally live in the open ocean.

Researchers believe the discovery indicates that species originating on the coast are capable of surviving and reproducing on plastic debris that may have travelled thousands of miles over several years.

The team is now calling for more research in other areas of the ocean where plastic congregates because of currents to see if other coastal animals are also reproducing.