[M-IS09] Ocean Plastics, an earth science perspective

[MIS09-P06] Ecosystems formed on a plastic cap and their origin.

*Masashi Tsuchiya¹, Naoto Jimi², Toru Miyama³, Toyoho Ishimura⁴, Shinta Fujimoto⁵, Natsumi Hookabe¹ (1.Research Institute for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2.Graduate School of Science Sugashima Marine Biological Laboratory, Nagoya University, 3.Research Institute for Value-Added-Information Generation, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 4.Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, 5.Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University)

Keywords:Marine plastic pollution, Drifting plastic debris, Plastisphere, Marine benthos

Plastic pollution is now evident over a large area of the ocean; approximately 95% of the debris discharged from the 1960s to the present is believed to be missing. The remaining 5% (about 25 million metric tons) has been discharged in the ocean, of which about 33% is thought to be floating or drifting. Plastic debris and other floating debris in the ocean carry organisms that can affect the formation of local populations and cause the introduction of new habitats. On the other hand, floating debris with attached organisms can cause changes in biodiversity by facilitating the introduction of invasive species. Understanding the process and magnitude of transport is important for understanding changes in invasive species and biodiversity caused by habitat modification due to environmental change.