Post by account_disabled on Feb 28, 2024 0:51:19 GMT -8
The marine neuston forms a thriving ecosystem in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch .
A lot of weird and wonderful wildlife has been found living in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch thanks to long-distance swimmer Ben Lecomte.
In June , Lecomte embarked on the record-breaking Vortex Swim, accompanied by a team that plotted his path through the gyre and took samples of the water.
High concentrations of Neuston Marino in the Pacific garbage patch
When they reached the heart of the garbage area, what they found was surprising. Not just floating plastic, but also high concentrations of floating life called 'neuston'.
The marine neuston is the set of microscopic organisms that make up the pleuston, which are those groups of plants and animals that live on the surface of the water, either in the sea or in cont C Level Executive List inental waters such as lakes and rivers.
These biological communities take advantage of the surface tension of water and also the formation of an organic film (biofilm) that floats and to do so they develop hydrophobic structures (tufts of silky hairs) that allow them to stand on the surface without breaking the surface tension of the liquid.
Lecomte and his team's findings have been documented in a recent paper and in an extensive Twitter thread by Rebecca Helm, co-author and assistant professor of biology at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
In the thread, Helm posted images of caravels and blue sea dragons, which eat caravels and then use them as armor. Their predators, the blue sea dragons, which eat man o' wars and steal their stinging cells. Covering their bodies with armor made from the weapons of their defeated prey,' Helm explained.
Helm also shared images of cannibalistic violet snails, blue button jellyfish and wind sailors, which have a sail-like body to catch the wind and travel on ocean currents.
marine neuston
In addition to recording all of these incredible ocean species, Helm and his research team discovered that the center of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was home to more life. "We found that densities of floating life were significantly higher within the central part of NPGP than at its periphery, and there was a significant positive relationship between neuston abundance and plastic abundance."
The researchers also hypothesize that other areas of high plastic concentration could host a similar marine neuston ecosystem. “Our findings suggest that subtropical gyres and other areas of high plastic concentration may be more than just garbage patches. The presence of unnoticed Neuston seas not only has implications for regional ecology and ecosystem services , but also possibly for international policy and biodiversity protection.'
“Garbage patches” may overlook areas of high neuston abundance, and could serve similar ecological functions to the North Atlantic Sargasso Sea, providing food and habitat for diverse species and valuable economic services. There is an urgent need to better understand these ecosystems and the impact of plastic waste.
A lot of weird and wonderful wildlife has been found living in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch thanks to long-distance swimmer Ben Lecomte.
In June , Lecomte embarked on the record-breaking Vortex Swim, accompanied by a team that plotted his path through the gyre and took samples of the water.
High concentrations of Neuston Marino in the Pacific garbage patch
When they reached the heart of the garbage area, what they found was surprising. Not just floating plastic, but also high concentrations of floating life called 'neuston'.
The marine neuston is the set of microscopic organisms that make up the pleuston, which are those groups of plants and animals that live on the surface of the water, either in the sea or in cont C Level Executive List inental waters such as lakes and rivers.
These biological communities take advantage of the surface tension of water and also the formation of an organic film (biofilm) that floats and to do so they develop hydrophobic structures (tufts of silky hairs) that allow them to stand on the surface without breaking the surface tension of the liquid.
Lecomte and his team's findings have been documented in a recent paper and in an extensive Twitter thread by Rebecca Helm, co-author and assistant professor of biology at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
In the thread, Helm posted images of caravels and blue sea dragons, which eat caravels and then use them as armor. Their predators, the blue sea dragons, which eat man o' wars and steal their stinging cells. Covering their bodies with armor made from the weapons of their defeated prey,' Helm explained.
Helm also shared images of cannibalistic violet snails, blue button jellyfish and wind sailors, which have a sail-like body to catch the wind and travel on ocean currents.
marine neuston
In addition to recording all of these incredible ocean species, Helm and his research team discovered that the center of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was home to more life. "We found that densities of floating life were significantly higher within the central part of NPGP than at its periphery, and there was a significant positive relationship between neuston abundance and plastic abundance."
The researchers also hypothesize that other areas of high plastic concentration could host a similar marine neuston ecosystem. “Our findings suggest that subtropical gyres and other areas of high plastic concentration may be more than just garbage patches. The presence of unnoticed Neuston seas not only has implications for regional ecology and ecosystem services , but also possibly for international policy and biodiversity protection.'
“Garbage patches” may overlook areas of high neuston abundance, and could serve similar ecological functions to the North Atlantic Sargasso Sea, providing food and habitat for diverse species and valuable economic services. There is an urgent need to better understand these ecosystems and the impact of plastic waste.