An 'island has emerged': Coastal species discovered thriving on Great Pacific Garbage Patch, scientists say

 Coastal marine species carried out to sea on debris are not only surviving, they’re colonizing the high seas and making new communities on the floating plastic detritus that make up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Scientists, writing in the journal Nature Communications, report coastal plants and animals are sustaining themselves and even reproducing in the patch, an accumulation of trash stuck in ocean currents that’s estimated to be about twice the size of Texas.

Scientists have documented more than 40 coastal species clinging to plastic trash, including mussels, barnacles and shrimp-like amphipods, said Greg Ruiz, a senior scientist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and an author of the report.

Scientists have known that coastal species could catch rides out to sea on logs and seawood in the past. But those materials would quickly disintegrate and become a one-way ticket to nowhere...MORE