This is how plastics influence the sea in the transport of invasive species

This is how plastics influence the sea in the transport of invasive species https://i0.wp.com/www.eresviral.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Así-influyen-los-plásticos-en-el-mar-en-el-transporte-de-especies-invasoras.jpg?fit=219%2C146&ssl=1

This is how plastics influence the sea in the transport of invasive species







Sabine Rech, PhD candidate at the University of Oviedo (Spain) for the Marie Sklodowska-Curie program, funded by the European program Horizon 2020, and as part of the AQUAINVAD-ED project, has shown that plastics floating in the sea help transport exotic species to other places, a phenomenon called rafting. The results are published in the journals Marine Pollution Bulletin and PLoS ONE.



The studies were carried out with anthropogenic wastes and biota adhered (rafts) on the beaches of the Bay of Biscay, Portugal and Italy and in the South Pacific (Rapa Nui, Easter Island) and demonstrate that rafting is not an exception, but that it is omnipresent. Several species have been found, which had never been reported in floating anthropogenic wastes; one third of them identified as exotic or invasive.



Plastics were identified as the main material of the floating objects that transport biota. According to the researcher, the taxonomic composition of the adhered fauna differs between different materials. The non-foamed plastics transport a fauna of rafting much more diverse than non-plastic foams and rafts. In addition, the frequency of a specific taxon of the biota of rafting in a coastal zone can be predicted based on the characteristic biota profile of each material and the composition of anthropogenic wastes on the beaches.







The researcher Sabine Rech. (Photo: SINC)



Areas with high levels of activity in the aquaculture sector (in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea) are areas of origin of high risk for rafting invasive species. "It is essential to prevent losses of material derived from activities at sea, in particular aquaculture," stresses the researcher.



Also in the remote Rapa Nui (Easter Island) large quantities of floating debris with adhered biota from the South Pacific Subtropical Giro were found, although among the exotic biota, no invasive species were found in the island's rafts. "This is probably due to the low occurrence of invasive species along the southeastern Pacific coast, suggesting that the introduction or dispersal of these species through rafting in anthropogenic marine litter is mainly a risk in oceanic areas where they have already been introduced by other vectors, such as marine traffic or aquaculture ", adds Rech.



The results show that rafting in anthropogenic garbage is a phenomenon with a global dimension. However, the importance and impact of this form of transport for the species seems to depend on the geographical region and whether it had previously been introduced in the area in question by other activities.



This work has detected many exotic and invasive species already known as typical in floating anthropogenic wastes. But every study done reveals new species doing rafting. According to the author, in a scenario of accelerated climate change and recurrent environmental phenomena, new laws, policies and effective citizen and industrial awareness campaigns are needed to significantly reduce the anthropogenic waste that is discharged into the sea. The success of this approach can help to prevent and better manage the global phenomenon of biological invasions. (Source: University of Oviedo)

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