Journal
MARINE BIOLOGY
Volume 161, Issue 6, Pages 1441-1453Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s00227-014-2432-8
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Funding
- University of California Ship Funds
- Project Kaisei/Ocean Voyages Institute
- AWIS-San Diego
- NSF IGERT [0333444]
- NSF [0841407]
- Will J. Reid Foundation
- NSF
- Division Of Ocean Sciences
- Directorate For Geosciences [1026607] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Plastic and other anthropogenic debris (e.g., rubber, tar) augment natural floating substrates (e.g., algal rafts, pumice) in the open ocean, allowing islands of substrate-associated organisms to persist in an otherwise unsuitable habitat. We examined a total of 242 debris objects collected in the eastern Pacific in 2009 and 2011 (32-39A degrees N, 130-142A degrees W) and the western Pacific in 2012 (19-41A degrees N, 143-156A degrees E). Here, we ask: (a) What taxa are associated with plastic rafts in the North Pacific? and (b) Does the number of taxa associated with plastic debris vary with the size of the debris island? We documented 95 rafting taxa from 11 phyla. We identified several potentially invasive plastic-associated rafting taxa, including the coral pathogen Halofolliculina spp. In concordance with classic species-area curves, the number of rafting taxa was positively correlated with the size of the raft. Our findings suggest that diversity patterns on plastic debris are compatible with the concept of island biogeography.
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