04-18-2023, 02:46 PM
Scientists studying the great pacific garbage patch discovered that it is now home to a number of species.
They have found shore line species on 70% of the debris. There is a diversity of species and they appear to be reproducing on their plastic home.
They are also finding open ocean species. The shore line species and the open ocean species do not usually inhabit the same area.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/great-pacif...ies-study/
The garbage patches have become so big and complex that we can't clean them up. There are too many other places we need to clean up.
So this artificial land is turning into its own ecosystem. Life is surviving and even multiplying. Species that never lived together before are sharing this ecosystem. We don't know how this is going to end up. We don't know what effect this will have on the oceans. Our carelessness with garbage has created a great big science experiment on a global scale. All we can do is study it and see what happens.
They have found shore line species on 70% of the debris. There is a diversity of species and they appear to be reproducing on their plastic home.
They are also finding open ocean species. The shore line species and the open ocean species do not usually inhabit the same area.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/great-pacif...ies-study/
The garbage patches have become so big and complex that we can't clean them up. There are too many other places we need to clean up.
So this artificial land is turning into its own ecosystem. Life is surviving and even multiplying. Species that never lived together before are sharing this ecosystem. We don't know how this is going to end up. We don't know what effect this will have on the oceans. Our carelessness with garbage has created a great big science experiment on a global scale. All we can do is study it and see what happens.
![[Image: IMG_9091.JPG]](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-rtQnRVnpHuw/Upv4HXYM20I/AAAAAAAAAqo/K5MmSTvkZdA/w296-h229-p-no/IMG_9091.JPG)
Catherine
