The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is becoming home to some aquatic species
Times of India • • science
Key Points:
- Scientists discovered that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch serves as a habitat for various aquatic species, including barnacles, crabs, amphipods, and sea anemones, many of which are coastal animals not typically found in the open ocean.
- Research shows that floating plastic debris, especially nets and ropes, provides surfaces for these species to cling to, shelter, feed, and even reproduce, creating a persistent "neopelagic" community far from shore.
- The presence of coastal species thousands of kilometers from land challenges previous assumptions that such animals could not survive in the open ocean due to lack of anchoring surfaces and harsh conditions.
- Some species found on the plastic debris trace their origins to the western Pacific, particularly near Japan, indicating that
