According to a study, sea creatures that normally live close to coasts have colonized the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Researchers found that about 80% of the hundreds of marine invertebrate specimens living on the floating garbage are normally found in coastal areas.
- The research team examined 105 pieces of debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the largest concentration of floating trash in the world's oceans.
- Researchers had long believed that coastal sea animals would struggle in the open ocean due to the differences in water temperature, salinity, and nutrients.
- But study authors found coastal and open-ocean species together living on over two-thirds of the garbage items.
- One item featured coastal anemones that were eating a purple snail that is native to the open ocean.
- The research was published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
