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Relationship of diversity and habitat area in North Pacific plastic-associated rafting communities

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Abstract

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 (32–39°N, 130–142°W) and the western Pacific in 2012 (19–41°N, 143–156°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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Acknowledgments

Funding for the 2009 SEAPLEX cruise was provided by University of California Ship Funds, Project Kaisei/Ocean Voyages Institute, AWIS-San Diego, and NSF IGERT Grant No. 0333444. The 2011 and 2012 expeditions were made possible through collaboration between the 5 Gyres Institute, Algalita Marine Research Institute, and the University of Hawaii, Hilo. The Sea Dragon was made available by Pangaea Explorations. M.C.G. was supported by NSF GK-12 Grant No. 0841407 and donations from Jim and Kris McMillan, Jeffrey and Marcy Krinsk, Lyn and Norman Lear, Ellis Wyer, and the Petersen Charitable Foundation. Funding for H.S.C. was provided by the Will J. Reid Foundation through a grant to K. McDermid. Laboratory supplies, support, and some analytical equipment for the 2009 samples were supplied by the SIO Pelagic Invertebrate Collection and the California Current Ecosystem LTER site supported by NSF. Many thanks to the captain and crew of the R/V New Horizon and Sea Dragon for their assistance in debris collection and many other logistics. We are grateful to H. Cha, M. DeMaintenon, M. Forrest, E. Moore, L. Sala, A. Townsend, and J. Winston for their assistance with taxonomy and to S. Strutt for her work in the laboratory. Comments from L. Gutow, M.R. Landry, M.D. Ohman, M. Thiel, and an anonymous reviewer significantly improved this manuscript.

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  1. Miriam C. Goldstein

    Present address: California Sea Grant, La Jolla, CA, USA

  2. Henry S. Carson

    Present address: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Miriam C. Goldstein

  2. University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hilo, HI, USA

    Henry S. Carson

  3. 5 Gyres Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Marcus Eriksen

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Correspondence to Miriam C. Goldstein.

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Goldstein, M.C., Carson, H.S. & Eriksen, M. Relationship of diversity and habitat area in North Pacific plastic-associated rafting communities. Mar Biol 161, 1441–1453 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2432-8

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