Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash
Emergence of a neopelagic community through the establishment of coastal species on the high seas
Haram, L.E. et al., Nature Communications Plastics & Pollution
The ubiquitous spread and increase of plastic pollution have galvanized international attention and attracted rapidly growing research, focused on diverse effects. In the coming decades, the effects of plastic pollution in the marine environment are expected to expand, with plastic production and waste predicted to exponentially increase, reaching an estimated total of 25,000 million metric tons of waste generation by 2050. Here, we discuss an additional and overlooked cascading consequence of plastic pollution, triggered by the introduction of an immense floating plastic habitat in the open ocean—the unpredicted establishment of coastal species in high seas ocean gyres.
Read the full study here
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