Ocean Facts
Picture of ocean stuff.

Description

The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, otherwise known as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," is considered the world's largest accumulation of ocean plastic. It's so massive, in fact, that researchers found it has been colonized by species — hundreds of miles away from their natural home. Researchers found that species usually confined to coastal areas — including crabs, mussels and barnacles — have latched onto, and unexpectedly survived on, massive patches of ocean plastic. Coastal species such as these were once thought incapable of surviving on the high seas for long periods of time. Only oceanic neuston, organisms that float or swim just below the ocean surface, have historically been found near these patches, as they thrive in open ocean. This new community, researchers said, "presents a paradigm shift" in the understanding of marine biogeography. "The open ocean has long been considered a physical and biological barrier for dispersal of most coastal marine species, creating geographic boundaries and limiting distributions," researchers said. "This situation no longer appears to be the case, as suitable habitat now exists in the open ocean and coastal organisms can both survive at sea for years and reproduce, leading to self-sustaining coastal communities on the high seas."