tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/marine-debris-6655/articlesmarine debris – The Conversation2023-07-11T20:06:07Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2079052023-07-11T20:06:07Z2023-07-11T20:06:07ZSmall ocean critters use their poo to help seaweeds have sex<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533401/original/file-20230622-16-aqsbyk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=64%2C109%2C4217%2C2734&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Finding a good partner in life is a tricky endeavour, so imagine how much more difficult this task becomes when you’re rooted in the ground. </p>
<p>For most land plants, the inability to move means they have to find clever ways of transporting fertile material to suitable mates. In the millions of years it took for land plants to evolve, they developed intricate and unique relationships with animals that have allowed them to successfully colonise almost every landmass on the planet. </p>
<p>Think of flowers luring in pollinators with the sweet scent of nectar, bristly seedpods travelling on the fur of passing animals, or seeds passing through the digestive tracts of birds and grazers to germinate in their poo. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532523/original/file-20230619-17-potbr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532523/original/file-20230619-17-potbr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532523/original/file-20230619-17-potbr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532523/original/file-20230619-17-potbr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532523/original/file-20230619-17-potbr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532523/original/file-20230619-17-potbr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532523/original/file-20230619-17-potbr7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Reina Veenhof working in the lab with gametophytes and tiny ocean grazers.</span>
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<p>These animal-plant interactions are often mutually beneficial, or “mutualistic”. The animal gets a reward in the form of fruit or nectar, while the plant gets to disperse its pollen or seeds over a much greater distance than it would have achieved alone. </p>
<p>Mutualism between plants and the animals that eat them was thought to be a unique adaptation to life on land. Underwater, movement from currents and buoyancy take care of the dispersal and fertilisation of seaweeds and marine plants. Seaweeds don’t need animals to spread their seed far and wide – or so it was thought.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpy.13364">new research</a> challenges this assumption by showing examples of mutualism among seaweeds and animals. It adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests the ability to use animals to fertilise, and spread fertile material, may not be exclusive to land plants. </p>
<h2>From spore to kelp</h2>
<p>Last year, researchers <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo6661">at the Sorbonne University found</a> that isopods (marine invertebrates about 2-4cm in length) can increase fertilisation success in the red seaweed <em>Gracilaria.</em> </p>
<p>As the isopods feed on small algae growing on the red seaweed, seaweed sperm attaches to their bodies. They then carry this sperm to female seaweeds, which can fertilise exposed eggs. In return, the isopods get a meal and protection from predators. </p>
<p>This year, our team found several examples of how much larger seaweeds have sex with the help of tiny animals. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532529/original/file-20230619-29-x3bnl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532529/original/file-20230619-29-x3bnl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532529/original/file-20230619-29-x3bnl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532529/original/file-20230619-29-x3bnl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532529/original/file-20230619-29-x3bnl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532529/original/file-20230619-29-x3bnl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532529/original/file-20230619-29-x3bnl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A juvenile long-spined urchin (<em>Centrostephanus rodgersii</em>) consuming kelp gametophytes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reina Veenhof</span></span>
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<p>Kelps are the largest seaweeds in our coastal environments. They provide habitat and shelter for many other species – but their reproduction has been somewhat of a mystery. </p>
<p>They have what is called a biphasic life cycle, where two separate living organisms alternate to complete the life cycle. The organisms that form their reproductive life stage are called gametophytes.</p>
<p>Gametophytes grow from spores released by adults. Male and female gametophytes make sperm and eggs, and when they fertilise they produce baby kelp that develop into adults.</p>
<p>However, gametophytes are microscopic in size (about 0.5mm). Being this small, you might imagine finding another gametophyte to fertilise would require incredible luck. After all, the ocean is very large, and gametophytes need to be as close as 1mm to fertilise successfully. </p>
<p>It has been assumed gametophytes must exist in high densities in the ocean, and this is why successful fertilisation occurs. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532519/original/file-20230618-25-lqen3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532519/original/file-20230618-25-lqen3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532519/original/file-20230618-25-lqen3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532519/original/file-20230618-25-lqen3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532519/original/file-20230618-25-lqen3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532519/original/file-20230618-25-lqen3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532519/original/file-20230618-25-lqen3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The micro snail, <em>Anachis atkinsoni</em>, eats microscopic kelps which then fertilise in its poo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reina Veenhof</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Fertilisation through poo</h2>
<p>Initially, our team was curious about whether tiny grazers would suppress fertilisation success in kelps by eating gametophytes. </p>
<p>Adult invertebrate grazers, such as snails and urchins, can drastically damage kelp forests. So we wanted to find out if juveniles played a similar role. To our surprise, we found the opposite.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sea-urchins-have-invaded-tasmania-and-victoria-but-we-cant-work-out-what-to-do-with-them-194534">Sea urchins have invaded Tasmania and Victoria, but we can’t work out what to do with them</a>
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<p>For our research, we fed gametophytes to juveniles of two urchin species, <em>Tripneustes gratilla</em> and <em>Centrostephanus rodgersii</em>, as well as the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.866136/full">micro-snail <em>Anachis atkinsoni</em></a>. </p>
<p>We found the gametophytes could survive through the grazers’ intestinal tracts. We kept the pooed-out gametophytes for a few weeks, and eventually noticed lots of baby kelps growing from the the poo of <em>Tripneustes gratilla</em> and <em>Anachis atkinsoni</em>. We’re not sure why there were no baby kelps growing from the poo of <em>Centrostephanus rodgersii</em> (a species that overgrazes <a href="https://theconversation.com/sea-urchins-have-invaded-tasmania-and-victoria-but-we-cant-work-out-what-to-do-with-them-194534">kelps in Tasmania</a>).</p>
<p>Moreover, none of the gametophytes kept outside of the poo were fertilised. This means being eaten by tiny critters, and ending up in their poo, is somehow beneficial for kelp sex. </p>
<p>We don’t know exactly why this is. We think it may be due to increased proximity of gametophytes through ingestion, or the effect of some chemical cue from the poo itself.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fZlw953V42o?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<h2>Where did animal-mediated reproduction begin?</h2>
<p>Finding repeated examples of animal-mediated fertilisation in the ocean indicates this process might have originated underwater and not, as previously thought, on land.</p>
<p>In evolutionary terms, seaweeds are a lot older than land plants. So perhaps the unique relationship between animals and seaweed reproductive biology was passed on to land plants.</p>
<p>Alternatively, it could be animal-mediated fertilisation independently evolved multiple times throughout plant evolution, both on land and underwater.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532533/original/file-20230619-17321-95uwwo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532533/original/file-20230619-17321-95uwwo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532533/original/file-20230619-17321-95uwwo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532533/original/file-20230619-17321-95uwwo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532533/original/file-20230619-17321-95uwwo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532533/original/file-20230619-17321-95uwwo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532533/original/file-20230619-17321-95uwwo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Urchin poo and small baby kelps growing out of them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reina Veenhof</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In either case, our findings are changing the way we look at seaweed-herbivore interactions. Seaweed grazers often get a bad rap for causing devastating loss in kelp and seaweed habitats. </p>
<p>Here, we highlight a positive impact: a grazer-seaweed story with a happy ending! Small grazers may fulfil an important role in seaweed reproduction, by making sure microscopic gametophytes in the big ocean can find each other and make babies.</p>
<p>In the end, it’s all about sex! Seaweed sex, that is …</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-seaweed-save-the-world-well-it-can-certainly-help-in-many-ways-201459">Can seaweed save the world? Well it can certainly help in many ways</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Reina Veenhof receives funding from the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Curtis Champion receives funding from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. He works for NSW Department of Primary Industries.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melinda Coleman receives funding from The Australian Research Council. She works for NSW Department of Primary Industries.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Symon Dworjanyn receives funding from The Australian Research Council. He works for Southern Cross University.</span></em></p>New findings suggest animal-mediated plant reproduction might have originated in the ocean.Reina Veenhof, PhD Candidate in kelp ecology, Southern Cross UniversityCurtis Champion, Research Scientist, Southern Cross UniversityMelinda Coleman, Adjunct Professor, Southern Cross University and Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western AustraliaSymon Dworjanyn, Professor of Marine Ecology and Aquaculture, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1672802021-09-15T20:04:35Z2021-09-15T20:04:35ZWe analysed data from 29,798 clean-ups around the world to uncover some of the worst litter hotspots<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420697/original/file-20210913-25-192xm21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C25%2C5598%2C3726&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Coastal litter is a big environmental problem. But how does this litter differ around the world, and why? In the first global analysis of its kind, we set out to answer those questions using data collected by thousands of citizen scientists.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102360">analysis</a>, released today, discovered litter hotspots on every inhabited continent, including Australia. This finding busts two persistent myths: that most of the world’s plastic pollution comes from just <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/90-of-plastic-polluting-our-oceans-comes-from-just-10-rivers/">a few major rivers</a>, and that countries in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/plastic-in-the-oceans-is-not-the-fault-of-the-global-south-110247">Global South</a> are largely to blame for the marine plastic problem.</p>
<p>Single-use plastics formed the majority of litter in this study. And in general, litter hotspots were associated with socioeconomic factors such as a concentration of built infrastructure, less national wealth, and a high level of lighting at night.</p>
<p>Our insights reveal the complex patterns driving coastal pollution, and suggest there is no “one size fits all” solution to cleaning up the world’s oceans. In fact, the best solution is to stop the waste problem long before it reaches the sea. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420387/original/file-20210910-16-v132ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420387/original/file-20210910-16-v132ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420387/original/file-20210910-16-v132ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420387/original/file-20210910-16-v132ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420387/original/file-20210910-16-v132ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420387/original/file-20210910-16-v132ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420387/original/file-20210910-16-v132ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">This study analyses the data collected by hundreds of thousands of citizen scientists conducting clean-ups worldwide.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Copyright PADI AWARE</span></span>
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<h2>A complex picture</h2>
<p>We are scientists from the <a href="https://research.csiro.au/marinedebris/">CSIRO’s Marine Debris Research</a> team. Our study involved working closely with <a href="https://oceanconservancy.org/">Ocean Conservancy</a> and the <a href="https://www.diveagainstdebris.org/">PADI AWARE Foundation</a>, which together hold the world’s most comprehensive litter data sets gathered by citizen scientists. </p>
<p>We analysed hundreds of thousands of items from 22,508 clean-ups on land (at beaches and the edge of rivers and lakes) as well as 7,290 seafloor clean-ups. The clean-ups spanned 116 and 118 countries, respectively, and involved participants recording counts for each item collected.</p>
<p>The analysis showed a huge diversity in the location and scale of plastic pollution hotspots. They were not limited to single countries or rivers – instead, the hotspots occurred in all inhabited continents and across many countries. In many places, litter patterns between neighbouring locations were vastly different.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-decades-scientists-puzzled-over-the-plastic-missing-from-our-oceans-but-now-its-been-found-133434">For decades, scientists puzzled over the plastic 'missing' from our oceans – but now it's been found</a>
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<p>Most litter comprised single-use items: cigarette butts, fishing line, food wrappers, and plastic bottles and bags.</p>
<p>In general, places with more overall litter tended to have:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>more built infrastructure</p></li>
<li><p>less national wealth</p></li>
<li><p>bright lighting at night (which indicated urban density).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Cities and other dense urban areas around the world were linked with hotspots of “convenience” single-use plastic items, such as plastic bags, food wrappers, drink bottles, take-away containers, straws, plastic cutlery and lids. These hotspots are represented in the infographic below.</p>
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<p><iframe id="ugZQk" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ugZQk/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
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<p>However, not all litter items followed this pattern. For example, cigarette butts followed a regional pattern and were more common in Southern Europe and North Africa.</p>
<p>Fishing line was most abundant in wealthier countries where recreational fishing is a popular pastime. Hotspots included Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.</p>
<p>Clusters of hotspots were often associated with partially enclosed bays, seas and lakes. These included areas such as the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/marine-and-polar/202010/over-200000-tonnes-plastic-leaking-mediterranean-each-year-iucn-report">Mediterranean Sea</a>, the <a href="https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/bay-of-bengal-filling-with-plastic">Bay of Bengal</a>, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-collaboration-in-the-asean-region-is-vital-to-tackle-plastic-waste-in-the-oceans-151849">South China and Philippine seas</a>, the Gulf of Mexico, the <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/caribbean-beaches-are-littered-single-use-plastics">Caribbean Sea</a>, Lake Malawi and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/tons-of-plastic-trash-enter-the-great-lakes-every-year-where-does-it-go-100423">Great Lakes of North America</a>. </p>
<p>Plastic accumulation in these areas is likely due to factors such as high local littering combined with relatively contained bodies of water.</p>
<p>Plastic bottle hotspots were more common in tropical countries such as Costa Rica and Jamaica, among others. Plastic food wrappers were abundant in the island nations of Southeast Asia, particularly around Indonesia and the Philippines. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-might-be-the-worlds-biggest-ocean-but-the-mighty-pacific-is-in-peril-150745">It might be the world's biggest ocean, but the mighty Pacific is in peril</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="fishing line and bobber wrapped around twig in water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420695/original/file-20210913-25-1bj4oja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420695/original/file-20210913-25-1bj4oja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420695/original/file-20210913-25-1bj4oja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420695/original/file-20210913-25-1bj4oja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420695/original/file-20210913-25-1bj4oja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420695/original/file-20210913-25-1bj4oja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420695/original/file-20210913-25-1bj4oja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Australia contained several global hotspots for fishing line waste.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Cleaning up our coasts</h2>
<p>Ultimately, our study reveals the diversity and complexity of the plastic pollution issue. We hope it helps governments make waste policy decisions based on sound scientific evidence.</p>
<p>The findings suggest programs to tackle ocean litter should be rolled out at the grassroots level, or within one part of a country, as well as nationally. </p>
<p>In Australia, for example, Zoos Victoria’s <a href="https://www.zoo.org.au/seal-the-loop/">Seal The Loop</a> program aims to tackle localised fishing line waste at locations where the pastime is common. The program includes fishing line bins placed on piers and at boat ramps to encourage responsible waste disposal.</p>
<p>And in <a href="https://www.mw.undp.org/content/malawi/en/home/presscenter/articles/2018/04/23/malawi--on-the-brink-of-momentous-change-on-plastic-pollution.html">Malawi</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667010021000081">15 other countries</a> in southern Africa, national bans on plastic bags target this locally problematic item.</p>
<p>Our analysis shows much non-degradable waste found in the environment comes from pre-packaged food and beverages. So regulations specifically addressing this type of packaging can be useful.</p>
<p>In Australia, for example, Hobart is aiming to become the <a href="https://www.hobartcity.com.au/Council/News-publications-and-announcements/Latest-news/Hobart-leads-the-nation-in-single-use-plastics-ban">first Australian city</a> to ban single-use plastic takeaway food packaging, as part of an ambitious goal of zero-waste to landfill by 2030.</p>
<p>Other strategies known to change litter behaviour include recycling <a href="https://theconversation.com/deposit-schemes-reduce-drink-containers-in-the-ocean-by-40-91897">incentives</a> such as container deposit schemes, particularly in lower socioeconomic areas where littering is highest, as well as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X17305171">education campaigns</a>. And levies on plastic items could also help stop litter entering the environment.</p>
<p>This Saturday September 18, Ocean Conservancy is holding its annual <a href="https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/international-coastal-cleanup/">International Coastal Cleanup</a> – come along if you can and if COVID restrictions allow. You’ll be helping your local environment and collecting data to inform tomorrow’s waste management policies.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420385/original/file-20210910-21-wftv4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420385/original/file-20210910-21-wftv4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420385/original/file-20210910-21-wftv4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420385/original/file-20210910-21-wftv4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420385/original/file-20210910-21-wftv4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420385/original/file-20210910-21-wftv4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420385/original/file-20210910-21-wftv4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420385/original/file-20210910-21-wftv4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Land-based clean-ups were conducted across 116 countries. Please join us for the next one.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rafeed Hussain Ocean Conservancy</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p><em>The authors would like to acknowledge the tireless volunteers from the International Coastal Cleanup and Dive Against Debris, and collaborators; Ocean Conservancy’s Dr George H. Leonard and Nicholas Mallos, and PADI AWARE Foundation’s Hannah Pragnell-Raasch and Ian Campbell.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167280/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Roman received funding from this work from Ocean Conservancy, PADI AWARE and CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Britta Denise Hardesty receives funding for this work from Ocean Conservancy, PADI Aware, and CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere. She also receives funding from Oak Family Foundation and PM Angell Foundation for related research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Wilcox receives funding for this work from Ocean Conservancy, PADI Aware, and CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere. He also receives funding from Oak Family Foundation and PM Angell Foundation for related research.</span></em></p>Litter hotspots were associated with socioeconomic factors such as a concentration of built infrastructure, less national wealth and the level of lighting at night.Lauren Roman, Postdoctoral Researcher, Oceans and Atmosphere, CSIROBritta Denise Hardesty, Senior Principal Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere, CSIROChris Wilcox, Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1518492021-02-26T03:34:12Z2021-02-26T03:34:12ZWhy collaboration in the ASEAN region is vital to tackle plastic waste in the oceans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385544/original/file-20210222-15-13obrcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C0%2C5184%2C3437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">ASEAN members could play a crucial role in reducing global marine plastic debris.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">ANTARA FOTO/Noveradika/hp/11</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768.abstract?ijkey=BXtBaPzbQgagE&keytype=ref&siteid=sci">2015 study</a> by US scientist Jenna Jambeck revealed six out of 11 Southeast Asian countries are among the top 20 countries to have mismanaged their plastic wastes. </p>
<p>Indonesia ranks second, followed by the Philippines (third), Vietnam (fourth), Thailand (sixth), Malaysia (eighth) and Myanmar (17th).</p>
<p>Their <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768.abstract?ijkey=BXtBaPzbQgagE&keytype=ref&siteid=sci">combined marine plastic pollution</a> accounted for 1.4-3.54 million metric tonnes (MT) per year, out of 8-12 million MT globally. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385464/original/file-20210222-21-1657t8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385464/original/file-20210222-21-1657t8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385464/original/file-20210222-21-1657t8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385464/original/file-20210222-21-1657t8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385464/original/file-20210222-21-1657t8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385464/original/file-20210222-21-1657t8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385464/original/file-20210222-21-1657t8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385464/original/file-20210222-21-1657t8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mismanaged plastic waste derived from nine ASEAN countries.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Located between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the ASEAN countries need to manage not just their own plastic waste, but also waste from other sources, either neighbouring countries or the oceans.</p>
<p>Having said that, we call for a collaborative effort from the ASEAN countries to tackle global marine plastic waste issues. </p>
<h2>What has ASEAN done so far?</h2>
<p>In 2019, the issue of marine debris as a <a href="http://www.jeeng.net/Marine-Debris-Pathway-Across-Indonesian-Boundary-Seas,132428,0,2.html">transboundary issue</a> was in the spotlight at the <a href="https://www.asean2019.go.th/en/meeting/special-asean-ministerial-meeting-on-marine-debris-2/">ASEAN special ministerial meeting in Bangkok, Thailand</a>. Delegates of the ten ASEAN members attended. </p>
<p>The high-level meeting encouraged countries to set up action plans, at national and regional levels, to tackle this issue. However, in 2019, ASEAN member states launched <a href="https://environment.asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ASEAN-Framework-of-Action-on-Marine-Debris-FINAL.pdf">ASEAN Framework of Action on Marine Debris</a> as an optimistic way forward but needs to be translated into concrete regional plan of action through a legally binding mechanism with clear milestones and stakeholder roles.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386079/original/file-20210224-23-1o26geo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386079/original/file-20210224-23-1o26geo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386079/original/file-20210224-23-1o26geo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386079/original/file-20210224-23-1o26geo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386079/original/file-20210224-23-1o26geo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386079/original/file-20210224-23-1o26geo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386079/original/file-20210224-23-1o26geo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Marine plastic waste in the ASEAN region comes from member states and the global oceans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ANTARA FOTO/Dedhez Anggara/hp.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At a national level, several countries have come up with their own plans to reduce plastics on land.</p>
<p>But there has been no specific plan to regulate marine plastic waste at a regional level. Each nation seems to have its own policy to manage waste in its territory.</p>
<p>In Malaysia, the government has already imposed a <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/ban-on-non-biodegradable-plastic-bags-takes-effect-in-malaysias-federal-territories">ban on non-biodegradable plastics</a>. The Thai government is actively discussing the possibility of a <a href="https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1493670/environmental-tax-could-cut-e-waste">tax on waste</a>. </p>
<p>Other countries, such as <a href="https://www.env.go.jp/en/water/marine_litter/pdf/112576.pdf">Singapore</a> and <a href="https://southeastasiaglobe.com/plastic-pollution-vietnam/">Vietnam</a>, have already declared national commitments to tackle marine plastic waste.</p>
<p>Indonesia is currently enhancing <a href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/adv/2018/05/04/waste-recycling-goes-hi-tech.html">waste recycling technology</a> and <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/this-solar-powered-device-aims-to-clean-1000-rivers-will-it-work/">developing garbage-collecting vessels</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Seagull observing food packaging." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386081/original/file-20210224-9618-1p8wnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386081/original/file-20210224-9618-1p8wnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386081/original/file-20210224-9618-1p8wnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386081/original/file-20210224-9618-1p8wnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386081/original/file-20210224-9618-1p8wnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386081/original/file-20210224-9618-1p8wnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386081/original/file-20210224-9618-1p8wnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Marine plastic can harm animals in the oceans and coastal areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/photos/seagull-bird-fauna-waste-plastic-4401424/">pixabay</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition to each nation’s waste policy, countries in ASEAN should set up a regional action plan comprising common actions to reduce plastics in the oceans.</p>
<p>To ensure its effectiveness, we recommend these actions should be monitored and reported in the ASEAN high-level meeting as the ASEAN countries do not only receive waste from their own territories, but also from other countries in the world. </p>
<p>While the region, dominated by highly populated developing nations, is still struggling to reduce plastic wastes on land, they also need to solve the problem of marine waste from neighbouring countries <a href="http://www.jeeng.net/Marine-Debris-Pathway-Across-Indonesian-Boundary-Seas,132428,0,2.html">transported by the winds and currents to their coastal areas</a>. </p>
<p>A regional action plan could strengthen the ASEAN legacy on marine plastic and provide a model for global action.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Baca juga:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indonesia-needs-more-research-on-how-plastic-waste-in-the-ocean-impact-marine-life-heres-why-124172">Indonesia needs more research on how plastic waste in the ocean impact marine life. Here's why</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We recommend collaboration between ASEAN nations to enhance waste-recycling technology. This is very important because our wastes are different from those of European countries or the US.</p>
<p>With strong partnerships and management, this technology could be available to manage waste in the region’s oceans. </p>
<p>The collaboration, between governments, private sectors, NGOs and universities, should include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>effective legal instruments</p></li>
<li><p>management measures based on monitoring and assessment</p></li>
<li><p>a transition to a circular economy</p></li>
<li><p>improved waste-management infrastructure</p></li>
<li><p>support for public-private partnerships.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>We also recommend increased funding for research on marine debris as well as ensuring policies and regulations are based on this research.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369797/original/file-20201117-13-180ibt9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><em>This story is part of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/oceans-21-96784">Oceans 21</a></em></strong>
<br>Our series on the global ocean opened with <a href="https://oceans21.netlify.app/">five in-depth profiles</a>. Look out for new articles on the state of our oceans in the lead-up to the UN’s next climate conference, COP26. The series is brought to you by The Conversation’s international network.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Aims for ocean health</h2>
<p>Marine debris strongly relates to ocean health, but also to our own health. </p>
<p>It <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-16510-3_4">could take up to hundreds of years</a> for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X19304254">plastics</a>, from the largest (macro-debris), small (micro-debris), to the smallest (nano-debris), to decompose. </p>
<p>They can potentially <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0228811">spread diseases and invasive species</a>, harmful to marine biota, ecosystems and also humans through food chains.</p>
<p>Hence, addressing <a href="https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-14-life-below-water.html">this issue</a> is important as we are also aiming to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including <a href="https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-12-responsible-consumption-and-production.html">sustainable consumption and production</a>, <a href="https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-13-climate-action.html">climate change</a> and <a href="https://www.globalgoals.org/17-partnerships-for-the-goals">partnerships for sustainable development</a>.</p>
<p>To achieve these targets, we must address the main challenges of marine plastic debris in ASEAN nations. </p>
<p>Last but not least, we need to improve public behaviour through education on waste, which is at concerning levels, as can easily be seen on the roads, waterways, rivers and coastlines. </p>
<p>Marine plastic debris is a complex problem and its impact portrays the characteristics of a society, civilisation and a country.</p>
<p>By taking action together, we hope to save the plant and animal life of marine ecosystems and improve the ocean’s health.</p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151849/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Para penulis tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi di luar afiliasi akademis yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>The countries of the ASEAN region have important roles to play in tackling the global problem of marine plastic waste.Noir Primadona Purba, Lecturer and Marine Reseacher, Universitas PadjadjaranKirana Agustina, Engagement Specialist for National Plastic Action Partnership, World Resources InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1241722019-10-17T03:03:42Z2019-10-17T03:03:42ZIndonesia needs more research on how plastic waste in the ocean impact marine life. Here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295179/original/file-20191002-49404-1kizlr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=43%2C7%2C4833%2C3168&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indonesia announced 'war against marine plastic debris' in 2016 as a recent study dubbed the country as the second largest waste producer in the world. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Indonesia’s oceans, some of the richest in marine biodiversity, are becoming rubbish bins – altering underwater ecosystems. </p>
<p>Based on a research led by <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768">Jenna Jambeck</a> of University of Georgia, Indonesia is the world’s second-largest ocean plastic polluter. Yet, we know little about how plastic waste impact marine life in Indonesia’s waters. </p>
<p>I am part of the Marine Research Laboratory (MEAL), a research collaboration between Padjadjaran University in Bandung, Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine and Fisheries Affairs, University of Raja Ali Haji Maritime of Riau Islands province and Mantawatch International. </p>
<p>We carried out a systematic review of research on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X19304254">marine plastic debris</a> published in the Marine Pollution Journal. We found that there’s a lack of research about this important issue, especially in eastern Indonesia. </p>
<h2>Why we need research on the impact of marine debris?</h2>
<p>Studying the impact of marine debris on the marine ecosystems in Indonesia’s waters is vital to provide evidence to businesses and governments about the urgency of keeping oceans free from plastic waste and debris.</p>
<p>Currently, businesses still sell everyday items, from shampoo and soaps to beverages, in small plastic packages. Meanwhile, the government has yet been able to effectively manage waste on land to ensure they’re not thrown in waterways, ending up in the ocean. </p>
<p>Additionally, most people are not aware of the potential health risks of marine plastic debris to human health. Plastic waste that ends up in the ocean can end up on our plates if we prepare seafood contaminated by plastic debris. This happens because most sea creatures are actually colour blind and <a href="https://ourblueplanet.bbcearth.com/blog/?article=why-do-marine-animals-eat-plastic">can’t tell between waste and food</a>.</p>
<p>Various studies in the world reveal that consuming plastic contained in food and drinks have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873021/">potential health risks</a>. </p>
<h2>The status of Indonesia’s marine research</h2>
<p>We mapped out marine plastic debris research from around the world and found a significant increase in the last 40 years. There was only one study on marine debris in 1978. In 2018, some 579 papers were published. </p>
<p>The surge of research occurred after <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/rio20.html">the UN Conference on Sustainable Development</a>, held in Brazil in 2012, concluded that marine plastics is a major issue on ocean health. </p>
<p>We also analysed the rate of publications based on countries and found that China, the world’s largest marine debris producer, had significantly contributed to the body of research compared to other top marine debris producers, including Indonesia. </p>
<p>We found that no more than 50 marine debris articles, specifically plastic debris, were published in Indonesia since 1986. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the topics of marine debris research are very specific. For example, the research that we found studied the chemical reactions of marine plastic debris, its impact on the ecosystem, its distribution, and beach clean-ups. The studies are still inadequate to be used as a basis for government policy. </p>
<h2>We need more research about waters in eastern Indonesia</h2>
<p>The studies on marine plastic debris in Indonesia have focused primarily on the western part of the country, concentrated on the densely populated islands of Java and Bali. </p>
<p>Around 80% of the research was carried out in coastal areas about its ecosystem, while 20% studied the water column. Most of them focused on environmental sciences and natural resources management. </p>
<p>Only a few studies were related to health, socioeconomic, engineering or policy. It was especially difficult to find research studying the effect of plastic debris on humans. We found some research papers on plastic debris in the stomach and tissue of fish. </p>
<p>For the eastern part of Indonesia, we only found five publications that discuss the condition of marine debris and two of them were published about <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141113697000020">two decades ago</a>.</p>
<p>Furthermore, there has not been any publications that comprehensively discuss microplastics accumulation in marine organisms. To do this kind of research will require a special laboratory to study nano-debris.</p>
<p>Marine debris research is still a developing field in Indonesia. At Padjajaran University, we regularly collect debris in many beaches to prevent lack of data for the research. </p>
<p>We propose more comprehensive research about the impact of marine debris on the ecosystem. We need to find out the impact of plastic debris on organism in the water column, how they alter distribution of marine life in the waters, how they affect human health, and how this eventually affect local and national economy. </p>
<p>If we have good data, all of these research could be a foundation for national or regional policy to reduce the plastic debris.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124172/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Noir Primadona Purba receives funding from Hibah Internal Unpad (HIU) Universitas Padjajaran, Komitmen Research Grant, and Demand Driven Research Grant (DDRG) LIPI in 2018 for research in East Nusa Tenggara.</span></em></p>Indonesia is struggling to keep its waste from the oceans. The government has announced ambitious plan to curb plastic waste. However, lack of research to support the policy.Noir Primadona Purba, Lecturer and Marine Reseacher, Universitas PadjadjaranLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1217872019-09-12T20:44:13Z2019-09-12T20:44:13ZCitizen science could help address Canada’s plastic pollution problem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292266/original/file-20190912-190050-ajfuh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=49%2C57%2C4698%2C2951&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Plastics straws are now hard to find. Are plastic bags next?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Oceans have become sinks for vast quantities of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.11.039">anthropogenic debris</a> — the human-created litter we dispose of. This debris has been a growing concern for decades and is one of the most widespread sources of pollution threatening the world’s oceans, from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.09.055">the Arctic</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-326X(96)00053-7">the Antarctic</a>. </p>
<p>The most abundant and widespread source of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-326X(02)00220-5">marine debris is plastics</a>, accounting for 60 to 95 per cent of marine litter. An estimated <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1260352">4.8–12.7 million tonnes</a> of mismanaged plastic waste enters the oceans annually. For reference, a male <a href="https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/elephant">African elephant weighs a little less than seven tonnes</a>, and a <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/b/blue-whale/">blue whale weighs 200 tonnes or more</a>.</p>
<p>Canada is among those countries around the world that have pledged to find ways to curb plastic pollution. In June, the federal government announced it would <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-canadas-single-use-plastic-ban-could-help-the-environment-and-wildlife-118796">ban single-use plastics by 2021</a>, such as <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/plastics-ban-trudeau-mckenna-1.5168828">straws, cotton swabs, drink stirrers and Styrofoam cups</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292259/original/file-20190912-190007-17c8y2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292259/original/file-20190912-190007-17c8y2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292259/original/file-20190912-190007-17c8y2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292259/original/file-20190912-190007-17c8y2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292259/original/file-20190912-190007-17c8y2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292259/original/file-20190912-190007-17c8y2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292259/original/file-20190912-190007-17c8y2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beach cleanups can characterize and quantify debris, and provide governments with evidence about the most polluting plastics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Before bans on single-use plastics can be implemented, however, the Canadian government needs to know which single-use plastics are harmful to the environment. A recent Canadian science symposium on plastics found that <a href="https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/eccc/documents/pdf/science-technology/plastics-science-agenda.pdf">detection, quantification and characterization of plastic in the environment</a> needs to be improved. But who can help collect this data?</p>
<p>Plastic marine debris can be easily identified, collected and counted. It’s a monitoring activity well suited for engaging citizen scientists. Citizen scientists require relatively little scientific training and can quantify types of single-use plastic debris found on shorelines to help fill those critical knowledge gaps. Citizen scientists can provide scientifically valuable data on plastic pollution of marine ecosystems.</p>
<h2>Citizen science helps fill gaps</h2>
<p>Beach cleanups, such as the <a href="https://www.shorelinecleanup.ca/cleanups">Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup</a>, help raise awareness of the plastic pollution problem and can inspire solutions. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.10.001">Increased public awareness of plastic pollution</a> has also helped motivate government responses to change policy to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.02.048">mitigate plastic pollution</a>. </p>
<p>But citizen engagement and participation in science goes beyond beach cleanups, and can be used as a tool to bridge gaps between communities and scientists. These partnerships between scientists and citizen scientists have produced real world data that have influenced policy changes. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.03.036">beach cleanups in the Bahamas</a> have helped influence government policy to ban single-use plastics.</p>
<p>We need more citizen science data collection. It informs the federal government about the types of marine debris and their distribution — especially in remote areas such as the Arctic. It can help the government target specific single-use plastics for banning, such as plastic food wrappers and bottle caps that top the list of Canada’s “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.02.025">dirty dozen</a>.” Through engagement activities such as the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, citizen scientist volunteers across Canada come together to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tony_Walker/publication/311732880_Canada's_Dirty_Dozen_A_Canadian_policy_framework_to_mitigate_plastic_marine_pollution/links/5858032608aeabd9a589e1b5/Canadas-Dirty-Dozen-A-Canadian-policy-framework-to-mitigate-plastic-marine-pollution.pdf">cleanup debris from shorelines</a>. </p>
<h2>Toxic plastic bags?</h2>
<p>Some scientists have called for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/494169a">plastic waste to be classified as hazardous</a>, including plastic bags, because it can threaten the health of people and harm wildlife. Classifying plastic waste as hazardous can help attain legal protection for the environment under the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/canadian-environmental-protection-act-registry/related-documents.html">Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999</a>, and could help establish preventative measures to mitigate new sources of plastic pollution entering the environment.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292261/original/file-20190912-190007-13z52z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292261/original/file-20190912-190007-13z52z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292261/original/file-20190912-190007-13z52z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292261/original/file-20190912-190007-13z52z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292261/original/file-20190912-190007-13z52z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292261/original/file-20190912-190007-13z52z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292261/original/file-20190912-190007-13z52z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Several governments around the world have banned the use of microbeads — tiny plastic particles — in cosmetics because they can enter marine food web.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is some evidence that this could help cut down on the amount of plastic entering the ocean. For example, on July 1, 2019 the ban on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.02.014">wash-off toiletries and cosmetics containing microbeads</a> came into effect in Canada, after the federal government classified plastic microbeads as a “toxin” under the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.02.025">Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999</a>. Time and subsequent monitoring will help confirm if the ban on microbeads was effective.</p>
<h2>Not all plastics are bad</h2>
<p>Poorly managed plastic is widely recognized as an environmental problem. Single-use plastics have been identified as being problem plastics because they cannot be reused and may not be recyclable in all jurisdictions. However, other plastic items are rarely found in the environment, are more easily recycled and have a useful place in our society. </p>
<p>Banning all plastics would be nearly impossible. Gathering science-based data supported by citizen science will help us to understand specifically what types of single-use plastics are responsible for harming wildlife and ecosystems. Citizen science action will also help serve as a gateway" for individuals to <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-you-shouldnt-be-a-straw-man-environmentalist-100303">increase awareness about other plastics</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292263/original/file-20190912-190026-1qw2df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292263/original/file-20190912-190026-1qw2df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292263/original/file-20190912-190026-1qw2df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292263/original/file-20190912-190026-1qw2df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292263/original/file-20190912-190026-1qw2df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292263/original/file-20190912-190026-1qw2df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292263/original/file-20190912-190026-1qw2df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bailed plastics await pickup for recycling in Athens, Ga. China’s 2017 decision to stop accepting plastic waste from other countries caused plastic to build up around the world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joshua L. Jones/Athens Banner-Herald via AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bans on single-use plastics have intensified since <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-00933-6">China stopped importing recyclable plastics from developed countries</a>. Like Canada, the <a href="https://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-6867_en.htm">European Union has also introduced measures to eliminate single-use plastics</a>, including cutlery, plates, straws, Styrofoam takeout containers and more. These new EU rules would also mandate the cleanup of other items. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.11.039">Plastic pollution is a global pervasive transboundary issue</a>. Plastic pollution generated from Canada can wash up on shorelines anywhere around the world, and it will continue to be a problem for Canadian communities unless everyone takes action. </p>
<p>As bans on single-use plastics unfold across Canada and the EU, perhaps the rest of the world should follow suit. Local shoreline cleanups can help identify which of the dirty dozen plastics those countries should also ban.</p>
<p>[ <em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121787/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tony Robert Walker receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p>Governments need better information on which types of plastic generate the most pollution — citizens can help.Tony Robert Walker, Assistant Professor, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1201572019-07-10T04:49:46Z2019-07-10T04:49:46ZWe organised a conference for 570 people without using plastic. Here’s how it went<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283432/original/file-20190710-44453-1k1dc75.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Delegates at this week's marine science conference in Fremantle take a plastic-free coffee break.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alicia Sutton/AMSA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What did we use before single-use plastics became ingrained in our everyday lives? Before the 1980s, plastic bags were a rarity in our supermarkets. In 2019, excessive plastic use feels not just normal, but necessary to sustain our hectic lifestyles. From takeaway containers and supermarket packaging to cheap, low-quality goods, plastic permeates our daily lives.</p>
<p>However, with every passing year the scale tips further against the immediate convenience of single-use plastics, and towards the extreme inconvenience of piles of waste. The true cost to society and the environment of a “disposal economy” is becoming <a href="https://theconversation.com/eight-million-tonnes-of-plastic-are-going-into-the-ocean-each-year-37521">increasingly stark</a>.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-the-discovery-of-another-plastic-trashed-island-finally-spark-meaningful-change-117260">Will the discovery of another plastic-trashed island finally spark meaningful change?</a>
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<p>Finding solutions to eliminate plastic waste in everyday life presents challenges, particularly during large events such as professional conferences. At some time during our careers as academics, scientists, researchers, or industry professionals, we may be part of a conference organising committee. Back in the 1990s, conferences proudly tallied how many coffee cups they used – how times have changed.</p>
<p>As organisers of this week’s <a href="http://amsa19.amsa.asn.au">national conference of the Australian Marine Sciences Association</a>, we took on the challenge to walk the walk rather than just talk the talk – by holding a plastic-free conference for 570 marine science professionals, academics, and students. But how do you cater for so many people while limiting waste and using no plastic at all?</p>
<h2>Turning the tide – be part of the solution</h2>
<p>We started this journey 12 months ago, once we knew the challenge we were facing: a marine conference, themed around the <a href="https://theconversation.com/marine-science-challenges-for-a-growing-blue-economy-22845">blue economy</a>, during July, in the Western Australian port city of Fremantle – the birthplace of the <a href="http://www.plasticfreejuly.org">Plastic Free July</a> movement. </p>
<p>From day 1, we were clear we wanted to eliminate plastic and reduce overall waste – everything from day-to-day rubbish to plastic take-home novelties that feature at so many conferences but inevitably make their way into landfill.</p>
<p>Recycling is only a small part of the solution. We need to “refuse, reduce, and recycle” to really tackle plastic.</p>
<h2>What we did</h2>
<p>We began by selecting a <a href="http://encanta.com.au/">like-minded event organiser</a> to work with us. Then we looked for non-plastic alternatives for obvious conference items. Here’s what we came up with:</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283424/original/file-20190710-44479-nkzyeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283424/original/file-20190710-44479-nkzyeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283424/original/file-20190710-44479-nkzyeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283424/original/file-20190710-44479-nkzyeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283424/original/file-20190710-44479-nkzyeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283424/original/file-20190710-44479-nkzyeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283424/original/file-20190710-44479-nkzyeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283424/original/file-20190710-44479-nkzyeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No plastic here at AMSA 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Angela Rossen</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ul>
<li><p>stiff cardboard name badges with no plastic pockets</p></li>
<li><p>bamboo lanyards with metal clips</p></li>
<li><p>100% natural conference tote bags</p></li>
<li><p>no printed envelopes for registration packs, and no printed conference abstracts</p></li>
<li><p>all necessary printing was done on sustainably sourced paper, by a company using a <a href="http://www.thebigpicturefactory.com.au/">solar-powered printer</a></p></li>
<li><p>delegates were asked to bring their own reusable water bottles and coffee cups, or pre-register to buy a reusable coffee cup at the conference</p></li>
<li><p>coffee carts with <a href="http://go2cup.com.au/">returnable cups</a> that can be washed and reused</p></li>
<li><p>water jugs with glassware (or to refill personal water bottles) at the back of each presentation room</p></li>
<li><p>no packaged mints or lollies</p></li>
<li><p>sustainably sourced pencils instead of pens (with sharpening stations provided!)</p></li>
<li><p>plates, silverware and glassware for all meal breaks</p></li>
<li><p>vegetarian catering for tea breaks</p></li>
<li><p>all exhibitors, workshop organisers and additional functions (such as the student night and public lecture) were committed to reducing plastic waste for free giveaway products and catering.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Most importantly, we delivered these changes without increasing the budget or impacting the bottom line.</p>
<h2>What we learned</h2>
<p><strong>Plan early</strong>. Going against the grain can take a bit of work, but there are usually plastic-free options available. Take the extra time and file the solution away for your next event.</p>
<p><strong>Work with everyone</strong>. Create a shared goal with your whole team: event organisers, venue, exhibitors, caterers – more ideas make for better solutions. This creates a ripple effect, not only for the event, but in developing more sustainable practice for other events.</p>
<p><strong>Do a site visit</strong>. Identify potential problems and devise solutions ahead of time. Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, founder and executive director of <a href="https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/">Plastic Free July</a>, visited our conference venue and provided valuable insights.</p>
<p><strong>Don’t assume</strong>. At another marine conference we attended, plastic water bottles were replaced by jugs of water (great!) and polystyrene cups (not so great!). Not all suppliers are knowledgeable about sustainable materials, so make the effort to talk through what plastic-free and zero-waste really mean.</p>
<h2>Removing ‘hidden’ plastics</h2>
<p>No matter how much planning you do, there will always be “hidden plastics” in the supply chain. It is impossible to control every aspect of operation of the conference venue, their suppliers (food, linen services, waste removal), and the other hotels used by delegates (who may provide guests with water bottles, drinks, and personal hygiene products in rooms).</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-seeing-the-planet-break-down-is-depressing-heres-how-to-turn-your-pain-into-action-114407">Climate change: seeing the planet break down is depressing – here's how to turn your pain into action</a>
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<p>Early buy-in by all service providers can help reduce this, but remember the goal is to change people’s attitudes towards waste, not to reinvent the entire events industry in one conference.</p>
<p>But if we can do it for 570 people, then everyone can start making <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-seeing-the-planet-break-down-is-depressing-heres-how-to-turn-your-pain-into-action-114407">similar changes</a> at their own home and workplace too.</p>
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<p><em><a href="https://www.amsa.asn.au">AMSA</a> will host its <a href="http://amsa19.amsa.asn.au/amsa-public-lecture/">annual public lecture</a>, sponsored by the <a href="http://www.oceans.uwa.edu.au">UWA Oceans Institute</a>, in Fremantle on Wednesday July 10 at 6.30pm. It addresses the issue of plastic pollution and what can be done about it, both globally and locally.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120157/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Sinclair receives funding from the Australian Research Council and is a member of the WA branch of the Australian Marine Science Association board.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlotte Birkmanis is the Secretary and Student Representative of the Australian Marine Sciences Association of Western Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Pemberton is the vice-chair of the Australian Marine Science Association of Western Australia.</span></em></p>This year’s national conference of the Australian Marine Science Association is a plastic-free zone, as marine scientists aim to reduce the environmental burden of throwaway plastic.Elizabeth Sinclair, Senior Research Fellow, School of Biological Sciences and The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western AustraliaDr Charlotte Birkmanis, PhD Candidate, The UWA Oceans Institute and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western AustraliaRobert Pemberton, Business Support Manager, UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1007682018-09-13T13:34:43Z2018-09-13T13:34:43ZHow much plastic does it take to kill a turtle? Typically just 14 pieces<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236139/original/file-20180913-133877-1l7r55a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Plastic bags, balloons, and rope fragments were among more than 100 pieces of plastic in the gut of a single turtle.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Qamar Schuyler</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We know there is <a href="https://theconversation.com/eight-million-tonnes-of-plastic-are-going-into-the-ocean-each-year-37521">a lot of plastic in the ocean</a>, and that turtles (and other endangered species) <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-leatherback-turtle-17041">are eating it</a>. It is not uncommon to find stranded dead turtles with guts full of plastic.</p>
<p>But we weren’t really sure whether plastic eaten by turtles actually kills them, or if they just happen to have plastic inside them when they die. Another way to look at it would be to ask: how much is too much plastic for turtles? </p>
<p>This is a really important question. Just because there’s a lot of plastic in the ocean, we can’t necessarily presume that animals are <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/plastic-oceans-pollution-microplastics-evidence-harm-recycling-dumping-waste-a8275416.html">dying</a> from eating it. Even if a few animals do, that doesn’t mean that every animal that eats plastic is going to die. If we can estimate how much plastic it takes to kill a turtle, we can start to answer the question of exactly how turtle populations are affected by eating plastic debris.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eight-million-tonnes-of-plastic-are-going-into-the-ocean-each-year-37521">Eight million tonnes of plastic are going into the ocean each year</a>
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</em>
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<p>In our research, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-30038-z">published today in Nature Scientific Reports</a>, we looked at nearly 1,000 turtles that had died and washed up on beaches around Australia or were found in nets. About 260 of them we examined ourselves; the others were reported to the <a href="https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/caring-for-wildlife/marine-strandings-data.html">Queensland Turtle Stranding Database</a>. We carefully investigated why the turtles died, and for the ones we examined, we counted how many pieces of plastic they had eaten. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JIklRSR0ov4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>Some turtles died of causes that were nothing to do with plastic. They may have been killed by a boat strike, or become entangled in fishing lines or <a href="https://theconversation.com/ghostnets-fish-on-marine-rubbish-threatens-northern-australian-turtles-11585">derelict nets</a>. Turtles have even been known to die after accidentally eating a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24391271">blue-ringed octopus</a>. Others definitely died from eating plastic, with the plastic either puncturing or blocking their gut. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236023/original/file-20180912-133877-p43xum.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236023/original/file-20180912-133877-p43xum.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236023/original/file-20180912-133877-p43xum.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236023/original/file-20180912-133877-p43xum.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236023/original/file-20180912-133877-p43xum.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236023/original/file-20180912-133877-p43xum.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236023/original/file-20180912-133877-p43xum.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the first meals eaten by this sea turtle post-hatchling turned out to be deadly. It died from consuming more than 20 tiny pieces of plastic, many of which were about the same size as a grain of rice.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kathy Townsend</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some turtles that were killed by things like boat strikes or fishing nets nevertheless had large amounts of plastic in their guts, despite not having been killed by eating plastic. These turtles allow us to see how much plastic an animal can eat and still be alive and functioning. </p>
<p>The chart below sets out this idea. If an animal drowned in a fishing net, its chance of being killed by plastic is zero – and it falls in the lower left of the graph. If a turtle’s gut was blocked by a plastic bag, its chance of being killed by plastic is 100%, and it’s in the upper right. </p>
<p>The animals that were dead with plastic in their gut, but had other possible causes of death have a chance of death due to plastic somewhere between 0 and 100% – we just don’t know, and they can fall anywhere in the graph. Once we have all the animals in the plot, then we can ask whether we see an increase in the chance of death due to plastic as the amount of plastic in an animal goes up. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230193/original/file-20180801-136664-107ew9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230193/original/file-20180801-136664-107ew9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230193/original/file-20180801-136664-107ew9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230193/original/file-20180801-136664-107ew9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230193/original/file-20180801-136664-107ew9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230193/original/file-20180801-136664-107ew9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230193/original/file-20180801-136664-107ew9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230193/original/file-20180801-136664-107ew9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Conceptual framework for estimating the probability of death due to plastic debris ingestion. Figure provided by the authors.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/281/Fig1.pdf?1536817078"></a></p>
<p>We tested this idea using our turtle samples. We looked at the relationship between the likelihood of death due to plastic as determined by a turtle autopsy, and the number of pieces of plastic found inside the animals. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, we found that the more plastic pieces a turtle had inside it, the more likely it was to have been killed by plastic. We calculated that for an average-sized turtle (about 45cm long), eating 14 plastic items equates to a 50% chance of being fatal.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pristine-paradise-to-rubbish-dump-the-same-pacific-island-23-years-apart-80811">Pristine paradise to rubbish dump: the same Pacific island, 23 years apart</a>
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<p>That’s not to say that a turtle can eat 13 pieces of plastic without harm. Even a single piece can potentially kill a turtle. Two of the turtles we studied had eaten just one piece of plastic, which was enough to kill them. In one case, the gut was punctured, and in the other, the soft plastic had clogged the turtle’s gut. Our analyses suggest that a turtle has a 22% chance of dying if it eats just one piece of plastic.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230116/original/file-20180731-136670-sn09he.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230116/original/file-20180731-136670-sn09he.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230116/original/file-20180731-136670-sn09he.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230116/original/file-20180731-136670-sn09he.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230116/original/file-20180731-136670-sn09he.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230116/original/file-20180731-136670-sn09he.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230116/original/file-20180731-136670-sn09he.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230116/original/file-20180731-136670-sn09he.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A green sea turtle that died after consuming 13 pieces of soft plastic and balloons, which blocked its gastrointestinal system.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kathy Townsend</span></span>
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<p>A few other factors also affected the animals’ chance of being killed by plastic. Juveniles <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0040884">eat more debris than adults</a>, and the rate also varies between different turtle species. </p>
<p>Now that we know how much is too much plastic, the next step is to apply this to global estimates of debris ingestion rates by turtles, and figure out just how much of a threat plastic is to endangered sea turtle populations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100768/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Britta Denise Hardesty currently receives philanthropic funding and support from CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere for plastics research. Previously she was supported by an ARC linkage grant. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Wilcox receives funding from CSIRO and several philanthropic organizations for plastics related research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathy Townsend receives funding from University of the Sunshine Coast as well as several private donors. This previous work was supported by the University of Queensland and an ARC linkage grant.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Qamar Schuyler receives funding from CSIRO as well as several private donors. This previous work was supported by the University of Queensland and an ARC linkage grant.</span></em></p>Autopsies of 1,000 turtles washed up on Australian beaches paint a grim picture of the impact of plastic debris. Even a single piece can be deadly, and on average 14 pieces equals a 50% fatality rate.Britta Denise Hardesty, Principal Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, CSIROChris Wilcox, Senior Research Scientist, CSIROKathy Ann Townsend, Lecturer in Animal Ecology, University of the Sunshine CoastQamar Schuyler, Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmospheres, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/847732017-09-28T19:05:43Z2017-09-28T19:05:43ZDebris from the 2011 tsunami carried hundreds of species across the Pacific Ocean<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187926/original/file-20170928-24177-15udpfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Japanese vessel washed ashore on Long Beach, Washington being inspected by John Chapman.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Russ Lewis</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When a foreign species arrives in a new environment and spreads to cause some form of economic, health, or ecological harm, it’s called a biological invasion. Often stowing away among the <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.560.2953&rep=rep1&type=pdf">cargo of ships and aircraft</a>, such invaders cause billions of dollars of economic loss annually across the globe and have <a href="https://www.crcpress.com/Biological-Invasions-Economic-and-Environmental-Costs-of-Alien-Plant/Pimentel-PhD/p/book/9781439829905">devastating impacts on the environment</a>.</p>
<p>While the number of introductions which eventually lead to such invasions <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14435">is rising</a> across the globe, most accidental introduction events involve small numbers of individuals and species showing up in a new area.</p>
<p>But new research <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.aao5677">published today in Science</a> has found that hundreds of marine species travelled from Japan to North America in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami (which struck the east coast of Japan with devastating consequences). </p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/widespread-invasive-species-control-is-a-risky-business-77460">Widespread invasive species control is a risky business</a>
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<p>Marine introductions result from biofouling, the process by which organisms start growing on virtually any submerged surface. Within days a slimy bacterial film develops. After months to a few years (depending on the water temperature) <a href="http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2009/386/m386p097.pdf">fully formed communities may be found</a>, including algae, molluscs such as mussels, bryozoans, crustaceans, and other animals.</p>
<p>Current biosecurity measures, such as antifouling on ships and border surveillance, are designed to deal with a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4878527/">steady stream of potential invaders</a>. But they are ill-equipped to deal with an introduction event of the scale recorded along most of the North American coast. This would be just as true for Australia, with its extensive coastlines, as it is for North America. </p>
<h2>Mass marine migration</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187755/original/file-20170927-24162-sakcgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187755/original/file-20170927-24162-sakcgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187755/original/file-20170927-24162-sakcgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187755/original/file-20170927-24162-sakcgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187755/original/file-20170927-24162-sakcgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187755/original/file-20170927-24162-sakcgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187755/original/file-20170927-24162-sakcgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187755/original/file-20170927-24162-sakcgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Marine animals were transported vast distances on tsunami debris.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Carla Schaffer / AAAS</span></span>
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<p>This research, led by James Carlton of Williams College, shows that over a few years after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, many marine organisms arrived along the west coast of North America on debris derived from human activity. The debris ranged from small pieces of plastic to buoys, to floating docks and damaged marine vessels. All of these items harboured organisms. Across the full range of debris surveyed, scores of individuals from roughly 300 species of marine creatures arrived alive. Most of them were new to North America.</p>
<p>The tsunami swept coastal infrastructure and many human artefacts out to sea. Items that had already been in the water before the tsunami carried their marine communities along with them. The North Pacific Current then transported these living communities across the Pacific to Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, Washington and California.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187758/original/file-20170927-24154-ofmepm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187758/original/file-20170927-24154-ofmepm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187758/original/file-20170927-24154-ofmepm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187758/original/file-20170927-24154-ofmepm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187758/original/file-20170927-24154-ofmepm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187758/original/file-20170927-24154-ofmepm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187758/original/file-20170927-24154-ofmepm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187758/original/file-20170927-24154-ofmepm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Japanese tsunami buoy with Japanese oyster <em>Crassostrea gigas</em>, found floating offshore of Alsea Bay, Oregon in 2012.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James T. Carlton</span></span>
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<p>What makes this process unusual is the way a natural extreme event – the earthquake and associated tsunami – gave rise to an extraordinarily large introduction event because of its impact on coastal infrastructure. The researchers argue that this event is of unprecedented magnitude, constituting what they call “tsunami-driven megarafting”: rafting being the process by which organisms may travel across oceans on debris – natural or otherwise.</p>
<p>It’s not known how many of these new species will establish themselves and spread in their new environment. But, given what we know about the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21601306">invasion process</a>, it’s certain at least some will. Often, establishment and initial population growth is hidden, especially in marine species. Only once it is either costly or impossible to do something about a new species, is it detected. </p>
<p>Biosecurity surveillance systems are <a href="http://oatao.univ-toulouse.fr/11178/1/Simberloff_11178.pdf">designed to overcome this problem</a>, but surveillance of an entire coast for multiple species is a significant challenge.</p>
<p>Perhaps one of the largest questions the study raises is whether this was a once off event. Might similar future occurrences be expected? Given the rapid rate of coastal infrastructure development, the answer is clear: this adds a new dimension to coastal biosecurity that will have to be considered. </p>
<p>Investment in coastal planning and early warning systems will help, as will reductions in plastic pollution. But such investment may be of little value if action is not taken to adhere to, and then exceed, nationally determined contributions to the Paris Agreement. Without doing so, a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0267-7">climate change-driven sea level rise</a> of more than 1 m by the end of the century may be expected. This will add significantly to the risks posed by the interactions between natural extreme events and the continued development of coastal infrastructure. In other words, this research has uncovered what might be an increasingly common new ecological process in the Anthropocene – the era of human-driven global change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84773/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Chown is the President of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.</span></em></p>As well as thousands of deaths and huge destruction, Japan’s 2011 tsunami carried potentially invasive species en masse across an entire ocean.Steven Chown, Professor of Biological Sciences, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/808112017-07-17T04:34:27Z2017-07-17T04:34:27ZPristine paradise to rubbish dump: the same Pacific island, 23 years apart<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178219/original/file-20170714-14306-wmgjzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The same beach on Henderson Island, in 1992 and 2015.</span> </figcaption></figure><p>A few weeks ago, the world woke to the story of Henderson Island, the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-south-pacific-island-of-rubbish-shows-why-we-need-to-quit-our-plastic-habit-77860">South Pacific island of rubbish</a>”. Our research revealed it as a place littered with plastic garbage, washed there by ocean currents. </p>
<p>This was a story we had been waiting to tell for more than a year, keeping our discoveries under wraps while we worked our way through mountains of data and photographs. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CKSTFOibgvQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Our May 2017 video story detailing the rubbish on Henderson Island.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Everyone wanted to know how the plastic got there, and fortunately that is a question that our understanding of ocean currents can <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/114/23/6052.abstract">help us answer</a>. But the question we couldn’t answer was: when did it all start to go so wrong? </p>
<p>This is the million-dollar question for so many wild species and spaces – all too often we only notice a problem once it’s too big to deny, or perhaps even solve. So when did Henderson’s sad story start? The answer is: surprisingly recently.</p>
<h2>An eloquent photo</h2>
<p>During our research we had reached out to those who had previously worked on Henderson Island or in nearby areas, to gain a better understanding of what forces contributed to the enormous piles of rubbish that have floated to Henderson’s sandy beaches. </p>
<p>Then, after our research was published and the world was busy reading about 37 million plastic items washed up on a remote south Pacific island, we received an email from Professor Marshall Weisler from the University of Queensland, who had seen the news and got in touch.</p>
<p>In 1992, he had done archaeological surveys on Henderson Island. The photos he shared from that expedition provided a rare glimpse into the beginning of this chapter of Henderson Island’s story, before it became known as “garbage island”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178220/original/file-20170714-14254-10i1c3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178220/original/file-20170714-14254-10i1c3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178220/original/file-20170714-14254-10i1c3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178220/original/file-20170714-14254-10i1c3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178220/original/file-20170714-14254-10i1c3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178220/original/file-20170714-14254-10i1c3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178220/original/file-20170714-14254-10i1c3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178220/original/file-20170714-14254-10i1c3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Henderson Island in happier times.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marshall Weisler</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178221/original/file-20170714-14287-8jwo9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178221/original/file-20170714-14287-8jwo9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178221/original/file-20170714-14287-8jwo9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178221/original/file-20170714-14287-8jwo9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178221/original/file-20170714-14287-8jwo9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178221/original/file-20170714-14287-8jwo9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178221/original/file-20170714-14287-8jwo9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178221/original/file-20170714-14287-8jwo9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The same stretch of beach in 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jennifer Lavers</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are only 23 years between these two photos, and the transformation is terrifying – from pristine South Pacific gem to the final resting place for enormous quantities of the world’s waste. </p>
<p>Remember, this is not waste that was dumped directly by human hands. It was washed here on ocean currents, meaning that this is not just about one beach – it shows how much the pollution problem has grown in the entire ocean system in little more than two decades.</p>
<p>To us, Henderson Island was a brutal wake-up call, and there are undoubtedly other garbage islands out there, inundated and overwhelmed by the waste generated in the name of progress. Although the amount of trash on Henderson is staggering – an average of 3,570 new pieces arrive each day on one beach alone – it represents a minute fraction of the rubbish produced around the globe.</p>
<h2>Cleanup confounded</h2>
<p>In the wake of the story, the other big question we received (and one we should have seen coming) was: can I help you clean up Henderson Island? The answer is no, for a very long list of reasons – some obvious, some not.</p>
<p>To quote a brilliant colleague, what matters is this: if all we ever do is clean up, that is all we will ever do. With thousands of new plastic items washing up on Henderson Island every day, the answer is clear. </p>
<p>The solution doesn’t require travel to a remote island, only the courage to look within. We need to change our behaviour, to turn off the tap and stem the tide of trash in the ocean. Our oceans, our islands, and our planet demand, and deserve it.</p>
<p>However difficult those changes may be, what choice do we have?</p>
<h2>Prevention, not cure</h2>
<p>While grappling with the scale of the plastics issue can at times be overwhelming, there are <a href="https://www.jenniferlavers.org/tips-links">simple things you can do</a> to make a difference. The solutions aren’t always perfect, but each success will keep you, your family, and your community motivated to reduce plastic use. </p>
<p>First, ask yourself this: when did it become acceptable for something created from non-renewable petrochemicals, extracted from the depths of the Earth and shipped around the globe, to be referred to as “single use” or “disposable”? Your relationship with plastic begins with the language you use. </p>
<p>But don’t stop there: here are a couple of facts illustrating how you can challenge yourself and make a difference.</p>
<ul>
<li>Australians throw away an <a href="http://www.1millionwomen.com.au/blog/what-sustainable-alternative-plastic-toothbrushes/">estimated 30 million plastic toothbrushes</a> every year. </li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Challenge</strong>: switch to <a href="https://environmentaltoothbrush.com.au/">bamboo toothbrushes</a>, which cost just a few dollars each and are available from a range of online retailers or wholefood shops.</p>
<ul>
<li>A single bottle of typical exfoliating face or body scrub <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-07/coles-woolworths-support-ban-on-microbeads-in-australia/7073674">contains 300,000 plastic microbeads</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Challenge</strong>: switch to products that use crushed apricot kernels, coconut shell, coffee grounds, or sea salts as natural exfoliants.</p>
<p>These are only small changes, and you can undoubtedly think of many more. But we need to start turning the tide if we are to stop more pristine places being deluged with our garbage.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80811/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Lavers receives funding from Detached Foundation and RACAT Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Bond receives funding from The David & Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Darwin Initiative.</span></em></p>After making worldwide headlines with the story of the Pacific “garbage island”, researchers were sent a photo of the same beach, white sand free of litter, as recently as 1992.Jennifer Lavers (Métis Nation ᓲᐊᐧᐦᑫᔨᐤ), Research Scientist, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of TasmaniaAlexander Bond, Senior Conservation Scientist, Royal Society for the Protection of BirdsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/799242017-06-25T20:05:25Z2017-06-25T20:05:25ZSludge, snags, and surreal animals: life aboard a voyage to study the abyss<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175349/original/file-20170623-29738-17uu1u7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The famous "faceless fish", which garnered worldwide headlines when it was collected by the expedition.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Zugaro</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past five weeks I led a “<a href="https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/abyss-landing-%20page">voyage of discovery</a>”. That sounds rather pretentious in the 21st century, but it’s still true. My team, aboard the CSIRO managed research vessel, the <a href="http://www.csiro.au/RV-Investigator-virtual-tour/rv_investigator.html">Investigator</a>, has mapped and sampled an area of the planet that has never been surveyed before. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175343/original/file-20170623-27912-14vsgz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175343/original/file-20170623-27912-14vsgz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175343/original/file-20170623-27912-14vsgz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175343/original/file-20170623-27912-14vsgz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175343/original/file-20170623-27912-14vsgz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175343/original/file-20170623-27912-14vsgz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175343/original/file-20170623-27912-14vsgz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175343/original/file-20170623-27912-14vsgz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The RV Investigator in port.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jerome Mallefet/FNRS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bizarrely, our ship was only 100km off Australia’s east coast, in the middle of a busy shipping lane. But our focus was not on the sea surface, or on the migrating whales or skimming albatross. We were surveying The Abyss – the very bottom of the ocean some 4,000m below the waves.</p>
<p>To put that into perspective, the <a href="http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/place_naming/placename_search/extract?id=KWwGjzsETR">tallest mountain</a> on the Australian mainland is only 2,228m. Scuba divers are lucky to reach depths of 40m, while nuclear submarines dive to about 500m. We were aiming to put our cameras and sleds much, much deeper. Only since 2014, when the RV Investigator was commissioned, has Australia had the capacity to survey the deepest depths.</p>
<p>The months before the trip were frantic, with so much to organise: permits, freight, equipment, flights, medicals, legal agreements, safety procedures, visas, finance approvals, communication ideas, sampling strategies – all the tendrils of modern life (the thought “why am I doing this?” surfaced more than once). But remarkably, on May 15, we had 27 scientists from 14 institutions and seven countries, 11 technical specialists, and 22 crew converging on Launceston, and we were off.</p>
<h2>Rough seas</h2>
<p>Life at sea takes some adjustment. You work 12-hour shifts every day, from 2 o’clock to 2 o’clock, so it’s like suffering from jetlag. The ship was very stable, but even so the motion causes seasickness for the first few days. You sway down corridors, you have one-handed showers, and you feel as though you will be tipped out of bed. Many people go off coffee. The ship is “dry”, so there’s no well-earned beer at the end of a hard day. You wait days for bad weather to clear and then suddenly you are shovelling tonnes of mud through sieves in the middle of the night as you process samples dredged from the deep.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175338/original/file-20170623-21202-juh6u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175338/original/file-20170623-21202-juh6u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175338/original/file-20170623-21202-juh6u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175338/original/file-20170623-21202-juh6u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175338/original/file-20170623-21202-juh6u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175338/original/file-20170623-21202-juh6u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175338/original/file-20170623-21202-juh6u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175338/original/file-20170623-21202-juh6u9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shifting through the mud of the abyss on the back deck.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jerome Mallefet/FNRS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Surveying the abyss turns out to be far from easy. On our very first deployment off the eastern Tasmanian coast, our net was shredded on a rock at 2,500m, the positional beacon was lost, tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of gear gone. It was no one’s fault; the offending rock was too small to pick up on our <a href="http://mnf.csiro.au/Vessel/Investigator-2014/Equipment/Marine-acoustics-seafloor-mapping-and-fisheries-acoustics.aspx">multibeam sonar</a>. Only day 1 and a new plan was required. Talented people fixed what they could, and we moved on.</p>
<p>I was truly surprised by the ruggedness of the seafloor. From the existing maps, I was expecting a gentle slope and muddy abyssal plain. Instead, our sonar revealed canyons, ridges, cliffs and massive rock slides – amazing, but a bit of a hindrance to my naive sampling plan.</p>
<p>But soon the marine animals began to emerge from our videos and samples, which made it all worthwhile. Life started to buzz on the ship. </p>
<h2>Secrets of the deep</h2>
<p>Like many people, scientists spend most of their working lives in front of a computer screen. It is really great to get out and actually experience the real thing, to see animals we have only read about in old books. The tripod fish, the <a href="https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/faceless-fish-looks-happier-and-heartier-it-did-1887">faceless fish</a>, the shortarse feeler fish (yes, really), red spiny crabs, worms and sea stars of all shapes and sizes, as well as animals that <a href="https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/beam-us-j%C3%A9r%C3%B4me">emit light</a> to ward off predators.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175329/original/file-20170623-27895-pqfrw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175329/original/file-20170623-27895-pqfrw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175329/original/file-20170623-27895-pqfrw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175329/original/file-20170623-27895-pqfrw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175329/original/file-20170623-27895-pqfrw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175329/original/file-20170623-27895-pqfrw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175329/original/file-20170623-27895-pqfrw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175329/original/file-20170623-27895-pqfrw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A spiny red lithodid crab.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Zugaro/Museums Victoria</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175333/original/file-20170623-21202-i5u60t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175333/original/file-20170623-21202-i5u60t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175333/original/file-20170623-21202-i5u60t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175333/original/file-20170623-21202-i5u60t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175333/original/file-20170623-21202-i5u60t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175333/original/file-20170623-21202-i5u60t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175333/original/file-20170623-21202-i5u60t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175333/original/file-20170623-21202-i5u60t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The tripod fish uses its long spines to sit on the seafloor waiting for the next meal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Zugaro/Museums Victoria</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The level of public interest has been phenomenal. You may already have seen <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-30/researchers-drag-faceless-fish-up-from-the-abyss/8572634">some of the coverage</a>, which ranged from the <a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/06/15/533063615/explorers-probing-%20deep-sea-%20abyss-off-australias-coast-find-living-wonders">fascinated</a> to the amused – for some reason our discovery of <a href="http://mashable.com/2017/06/18/peanut-worm-looks-phallic/#GAkg8P.vh8qC">priapulid worms</a> was a big hit on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPgVtWDljcU">US late-night television</a>. In many ways all the publicity mirrored our first reactions to animals on the ship. “What is this thing?” “How amazing!”</p>
<p>The important scientific insights will come later. It will take a year or so to process all the data and accurately identify the samples. Describing all the new species will take even longer. All of the material has been carefully preserved and will be stored in museums and CSIRO collections around Australia for centuries. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175465/original/file-20170624-12633-l6b873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175465/original/file-20170624-12633-l6b873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175465/original/file-20170624-12633-l6b873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175465/original/file-20170624-12633-l6b873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175465/original/file-20170624-12633-l6b873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175465/original/file-20170624-12633-l6b873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175465/original/file-20170624-12633-l6b873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175465/original/file-20170624-12633-l6b873.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scientists identifying microscopic animals onboard.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Asher Flatt</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On a voyage of discovery, video footage is not sufficient, because we don’t know the animals. The modern biologist uses high-resolution microscopes and DNA evidence to describe the new species and understand their place in the ecosystem, and that requires actual samples.</p>
<p>So why bother studying the deep sea? First, it is important to understand that humanity is already having an impact down there. The oceans are changing. There wasn’t a day at sea when we didn’t bring up some rubbish from the seafloor – cans, bottles, plastic, rope, fishing line. There is also old debris from steamships, such as unburned coal and bits of <a href="http://www.ehow.com/info_12152358_causes-clinkers-coal-fired-boilers.html">clinker</a>, which looks like melted rock, formed in the boilers. Elsewhere in the oceans there are plans to mine precious metals from the deep sea.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
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<span class="caption">Rubbish found on the seafloor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Zugaro/Museums Victoria</span></span>
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<p>Second, Australia is the custodian of a vast amount of abyss. Our marine <a href="http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/dimensions/oceans-and-seas#heading-1">exclusive economic zone (EEZ)</a> is larger than the Australian landmass. The Commonwealth recently established a <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/marine/marine-reserves">network of marine reserves</a> around Australia. Just like National Parks on land, these have been established to protect biodiversity in the long term. Australia’s <a href="https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/">Marine Biodiversity Hub</a>, which provided funds for this voyage, as been established by the Commonwealth Government to conduct research in the EEZ. </p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The newly mapped East Gippsland Commonwealth Marine Reserve, showing the rugged end of the Australian continental margin as it dips to the abyssal plain. The scale shows the depth in metres.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Amy Nau/CSIRO</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our voyage mapped some of the marine reserves for the first time. Unlike parks on land, the reserves are not easy to visit. It was our aim to bring the animals of the Australian Abyss into public view.</p>
<p>We discovered that life in the deep sea is diverse and fascinating. Would I do it again? Sure I would. After a beer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79924/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim O'Hara receives research funding from the National Environmental Science Programme's Marine Biodiversity Hub. </span></em></p>Surveying the bottom of the ocean turns out to be far from easy. But there was something wonderful about seeing animals we have only read about in old books.Tim O'Hara, Senior Curator of Marine Invertebrates, Museums Victoria Research InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/778602017-05-17T03:48:50Z2017-05-17T03:48:50ZThis South Pacific island of rubbish shows why we need to quit our plastic habit<p>A remote South Pacific island has the highest density of plastic debris reported anywhere on the planet, our new study has found. </p>
<p>Our study, published in the journal <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/05/09/1619818114.abstract">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, estimated that more than 17 tonnes of plastic debris has washed up on Henderson Island, with more than 3,570 new pieces of litter arriving every day on one beach alone. </p>
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<span class="caption">Our study probably actually underestimates the extent of plastic pollution on Henderson Island, as we were only able to sample pieces bigger than two millimetres down to a depth of 10 centimetres. We also could not sample along cliffs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jennifer Lavers</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is estimated that there are nearly 38 million pieces of plastic on the island, which is near the centre of the <a href="http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/currents/05currents3.html">South Pacific Gyre ocean current</a>.</p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Henderson Island, marked here by the red pin, is in the UK’s Pitcairn Islands territory and is more than 5,000 kilometres from the nearest major population centre. That shows plastic pollution ends up everywhere, even in the most remote parts of the world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google Maps</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111913">2014 paper published in the journal PLOS One</a> used data from surface water all over the world. The researchers estimated that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the top 10 centimetres of the world’s oceans.</p>
<p>Plastics pose a major threat to seabirds and other animals, and most don’t ever break down – they just break up. Every piece of petrochemical-derived plastic ever made still exists on the planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77860/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Henderson research program was funded through overseas agencies, primarily UK based philanthropy. A complete list is in the acknowledgements of the published paper here <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/05/09/1619818114.abstract">http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/05/09/1619818114.abstract</a>. For the Henderson Island project, Jennifer Lavers is affiliated with the University of Tasmania, the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in the United Kingdom.</span></em></p>Plastics pose a major threat to seabirds and other animals, and most don’t ever break down - they just break up. Every piece of petrochemical-derived plastic ever made still exists on the planet.Jennifer Lavers (Métis Nation ᓲᐊᐧᐦᑫᔨᐤ), Research Scientist, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/745342017-03-22T04:37:09Z2017-03-22T04:37:09ZFilm review: A Plastic Ocean shows us a world awash with rubbish<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161937/original/image-20170322-5384-177evpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pollution and debris off the Sri Lankan coast.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Jones/plasticoceans.org</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We live in a world of plastic. Shopping bags, drink bottles, your toothbrush and even your clothes are among the everyday items made from plastic. But plastic isn’t fantastic, and neither is the current state of our environment.</p>
<p>Humans have been mass-producing plastic since the 1950s. We produce <a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/364/1526/1985.short">hundreds of millions of tonnes of plastic every year</a> and production is only increasing. Unfortunately, most of it is used only once and then thrown away.</p>
<p>Only a <a href="http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/01/31/what-happens-to-all-that-plastic/">small proportion of plastic is recycled</a>. The majority ends up in landfill or, in the worst case scenario, our oceans.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.plasticoceans.org/film/about.html">A Plastic Ocean</a> is a documentary film directed by the Australian journalist Craig Leeson. It dives into and investigates the devastating impacts that plastic has caused to our environment, especially our marine life.</p>
<p>What starts off as an adventure to film the blue whale, the largest animal on the planet, leads to the shocking discovery of a thick layer of plastic debris floating in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Craig, alongside Tanya Streeter, a world record-breaking free diver and environmental activist, then travel across the globe to report on the havoc caused by decades of plastic use.</p>
<p>The film presents beautiful shots of the marine environment. This contrasts with footage of heavily polluted cities and dumps full of plastic rubbish. The juxtaposition between these images sends the message that our actions and choices can severely impact the planet. Throughout the film, experts are interviewed to provide further insight into some of the problems derived from plastic.</p>
<h2>Impacts of plastic use</h2>
<p>Plastic is so widely used because it is durable and cheap. Unfortunately, this durability is the same quality that makes it so detrimental to the environment. Most plastics do not break down chemically. Instead, they break into smaller and smaller pieces that can persist in the environment for an extensive period of time.</p>
<p>Because it is so affordable, developing countries use plastics extensively. However, many regions lack proper waste management, and much of the rubbish is washed into the ocean when it rains. As a result, a large percentage of all plastics in the ocean are due to <a href="https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-01-12/5-countries-spew-more-plastic-oceans-rest-world-together">only a handful of countries</a>. Scientists estimate that more than <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111913">5 trillion pieces of plastic</a> are currently floating in our oceans.</p>
<p>Throughout the film, we are shown footage of numerous marine species that have been affected by plastic debris. Marine animals and sea birds often mistake floating plastic for food. Large pieces of plastic, when eaten, can obstruct the animals’ digestive tracts of the animals, essentially starving them to death.</p>
<p>When smaller “microplastics” are ingested, toxins are released and become <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749113001140">stored in their tissue</a>. These toxins accumulate up the food chain and can eventually end up on our dinner tables. The consumption of the contaminated seafood can cause many health problems including <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/microplastics-microbeads-ocean-sea-serious-health-risks-united-nations-warns-a7041036.html">cancer, immune system problems, and even childhood developmental issues</a>. This is a major problem, as almost a fifth of the world’s population <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5555e.pdf">relies on the ocean for their primary source of protein</a>. Society’s huge appetite for plastic is literally poisoning us.</p>
<h2>The future of plastics</h2>
<p>There is no quick fix for a problem that has grown hugely over the past few decades. The use of plastics is so ingrained in society that it is all but impossible to eliminate them completely.</p>
<p>The film does, however, offer various strategies that can be implemented to reduce the impact of plastics.</p>
<p>Ideally, avoid plastic-containing products as much as possible. Avoid single-use plastic products and recycle whatever you can. Local governments also need to implement a refund scheme for the return of plastic bottles to incentivise recycling. </p>
<p>For unrecyclable plastics, new technology has been developed to <a href="http://www.livescience.com/52249-tech-exists-to-turn-plastic-to-fuel-if-communities-demand-it.html">convert them into fuel</a>, providing a second life for those plastics.</p>
<p>It is up to us to embrace these changes and move away from the plastic culture. We need to get this problem under control, as it will only become worse as the human population increases. Our marine animals deserve to live in a blue ocean, not a plastic soup.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>A Plastic Ocean is <a href="http://www.plasticoceans.org/screenings/">touring internationally</a>, including screenings in <a href="http://www.transitionsfilmfestival.com/event/a-plastic-ocean-brisbane/">Brisbane on March 25</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1193292524119915/">Cairns on March 27</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74534/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary Truong does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new documentary highlights the plight of marine animals living among the estimated 5 trillion pieces of plastic rubbish generated by humans.Gary Truong, Phd Candidate, Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/467402015-08-31T20:06:16Z2015-08-31T20:06:16ZSeabirds are eating plastic litter in our oceans – but not only where you’d expect<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93131/original/image-20150827-368-192m6mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Had a gutful of plastic rubbish affecting wildlife?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Britta Denise Hardesty</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of you may have already seen the photograph above, of an albatross carcass full of undigested plastic junk. But how representative is that of the wider issue facing seabirds?</p>
<p>To help answer that question, we carried out the first worldwide analysis of the threat posed by plastic pollution to seabird species worldwide. </p>
<p>Our study, <a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1502108112">published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, found that nearly 60% of all seabird species studied so far have had plastic in their gut. This figure is based on reviewing previous reports in the scientific literature, but if we use a statistical model to infer what would be found at the current time and include unstudied species, we expect that more than 90% of seabirds have eaten plastic rubbish. </p>
<h2>Rising tide of plastic</h2>
<p>Our analysis of published studies shows that the amount of plastic in seabird’s stomachs has been climbing over the past half-century. In 1960, plastic was found in the stomachs of less than 5% of seabirds, but by 2010 this had risen to 80%. We predict that by 2050, 99% of the world’s seabird species will be accidentally eating plastic, unless we take action to clean up the oceans. </p>
<p>Perhaps surprisingly, we also found that the area with the worst expected impact is at the boundary of the Southern Ocean and the Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand. While this region is far away from the subtropical gyres, dubbed “ocean garbage patches”, that collect the highest densities of plastic, the highest threat is in areas where plastic rubbish overlaps with large numbers of different seabird species – such as the Southern Ocean off Australia.</p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Expected number of seabird species ingesting plastic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1502108112">PNAS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Seabirds are excellent indicators of ecosystem health. The high estimates of plastic in seabirds we found were not so surprising, considering that members of our research team have previously found nearly 200 pieces of plastic in a single seabird. These items include a wide range of things most of us would recognise: bags, bottle caps, bits of balloons, cigarette lighters, even toothbrushes and plastic toys. </p>
<p>Seabirds can have surprising amounts of plastic in their gut. Working on islands off Australia, we have found birds with plastics making up 8% of their body weight. Imagine a person weighing 62 kg having almost 5 kg of plastic in their digestive tract. And then think about how large that lump would be, given that many types of plastic are designed to be as lightweight as possible.</p>
<p>The more plastic a seabird encounters, the more it tends to eat, which means that one of the best predictors of the amount of plastic in a seabird’s gut is the concentration of ocean plastic in the region where it lives. This finding points the way to a solution: reducing the amount of plastic that goes into the ocean would directly reduce the amount that seabirds (and other wildlife) accidentally eat. </p>
<p>That might sound obvious, but as we can see from the stomach contents of the birds, many of the items are things people use every day, so the link to human rubbish is clear. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93410/original/image-20150831-29524-d82uzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93410/original/image-20150831-29524-d82uzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93410/original/image-20150831-29524-d82uzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93410/original/image-20150831-29524-d82uzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93410/original/image-20150831-29524-d82uzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93410/original/image-20150831-29524-d82uzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93410/original/image-20150831-29524-d82uzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93410/original/image-20150831-29524-d82uzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plastic from a dead flesh-footed shearwater, amounting to 8% of the bird’s body weight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Britta Denise Hardesty</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our study suggests that improving waste management would directly benefit wildlife. There are several actions we could take, such as reducing packaging, banning single-use plastic items or charging an extra fee to use them, and introducing deposits for recyclable items like drink containers. </p>
<p>Many of these types of policies are already proving to be locally effective in reducing waste lost into the environment, a substantial portion of which ends up polluting the ocean. </p>
<p>One <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749115001104">recent study</a> of industrial practices in Europe found that improved management of plastic led to a clear reduction in the number of plastic items found in seabirds in the North Sea within a few decades. This is encouraging, as it suggests not only that the solutions are effective, but also that they work in a relatively short time. </p>
<p>Given that most of these items were in someone’s hands at some point, it seems that a simple behaviour change can reduce a global impact to our seabirds, and to other marine species as well.</p>
<p><em>This work was carried out as part of a national marine debris project supported by CSIRO and Shell’s Social investment program, as well as the marine debris working group at the <a href="https://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/">US National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis</a>, University of California, Santa Barbara, with support from <a href="http://www.oceanconservancy.org">Ocean Conservancy</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46740/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Wilcox receives funding from CSIRO, Shell Social Investment Fund</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Britta Denise Hardesty received funding for this work from CSIRO and Shell’s Social investment program .</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erik van Sebille receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.</span></em></p>By 2050, 99% of the world’s seabird species will be accidentally eating plastic, unless we take action to clean up the oceans. And some of the highest risk to wildlife is in the Southern Ocean off Australia.Chris Wilcox, Senior Research Scientist, CSIROBritta Denise Hardesty, Senior Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, CSIROErik van Sebille, Lecturer in oceanography and climate change, Imperial College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/311632014-09-02T19:56:39Z2014-09-02T19:56:39ZRedrawing the map could reveal ocean garbage patch culprits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58003/original/4nr84whv-1409642461.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=32%2C175%2C2371%2C1575&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rubbish strewn on beaches eventually ends up in one of the world's giant ocean garbage patches.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Vberger/Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most of us have littered at one time or another, and in the process we probably contributed to the enormous of amounts of plastic that enter the ocean every year, eventually ending up in one of the five so-called <a href="https://theconversation.com/whose-job-is-it-to-clear-up-all-the-rubbish-floating-in-the-oceans-25082">ocean garbage patches</a>. </p>
<p>This plastic marine debris lingers for centuries, posing a (sometimes deadly) threat to marine life, and accumulating in growing quantities up the food chain. Yet there is very little data about where the plastic we find in our ocean comes from, and our new research redraws some of the conventional boundaries between the oceans, suggesting that litter doesn’t always go into its “local” garbage patch.</p>
<p>Working out which countries have contributed most to the marine plastics problem is a vexed issue. Nevertheless, attributing blame will be a crucial step in holding polluting countries to account, and getting them to clean up after themselves. </p>
<p>Our <a href="http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/chaos/24/3/10.1063/1.4892530">study</a>, published in the journal <em>Chaos</em>, provides a crucial piece in the puzzle of who is creating these marine dumping grounds.</p>
<h2>Rubbish round-trip</h2>
<p>If you were foolish enough to throw a plastic bottle into the ocean at the beach, it would go on a <a href="http://www.adrift.org.au">very long journey</a>. It would slowly drift with the currents until, depending on which beach you dropped it at, it would eventually find its way into one of the five ocean garbage patches. </p>
<p>By the time it made it to the garbage patch, your bottle would have been adrift for several years, and the sun and waves would have broken it down into millimetre-sized pellets. Removing all these tiny pellets from the water is <a href="https://theconversation.com/leave-the-ocean-garbage-alone-we-need-to-stop-polluting-first-13537">far more difficult than it sounds</a>.</p>
<p>The garbage patches are formed by currents that move water (and plastic) around the world in a complicated pattern. Most of that water circulates in “gyres”. There is one gyre in each ocean in each hemisphere, each with a garbage patch at its centre. Knowing which countries border which gyre is therefore an important first step in the garbage patch blame game.</p>
<p>However, ocean currents do not confine themselves to individual oceans, the borders of which were drawn up by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Hydrographic_Organization">International Hydrographic Organization</a> and largely reflect geopolitical boundaries.</p>
<p>For example, the “border” between the Indian and Pacific oceans is internationally recognised as a straight line running south from Tasmania. This suggests that plastic bottles thrown into the ocean east of Tasmania would end up in the South Pacific Ocean, while plastic bottles littered west of Tasmania would head to the Indian Ocean. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57997/original/2bgfqgfp-1409637185.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57997/original/2bgfqgfp-1409637185.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57997/original/2bgfqgfp-1409637185.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57997/original/2bgfqgfp-1409637185.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57997/original/2bgfqgfp-1409637185.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57997/original/2bgfqgfp-1409637185.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57997/original/2bgfqgfp-1409637185.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57997/original/2bgfqgfp-1409637185.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Conventional boundaries of the Pacific (left) and Indian (right) Oceans, as defined by the International Hydrographic Office.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikipedia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our study shows that this isn’t true. In reality, all of the Great Australian Bight, much of the Southern Ocean southwest of Australia, and even regions south of Africa, are much more closely linked to the South Pacific than to the Indian Ocean. </p>
<p>Our new map of the world’s oceans redraws ocean boundaries according to science, rather than geopolitics. These current-driven boundaries show the true catchment areas of the garbage patches.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57996/original/6ydqy3gv-1409636973.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57996/original/6ydqy3gv-1409636973.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57996/original/6ydqy3gv-1409636973.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57996/original/6ydqy3gv-1409636973.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57996/original/6ydqy3gv-1409636973.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57996/original/6ydqy3gv-1409636973.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57996/original/6ydqy3gv-1409636973.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57996/original/6ydqy3gv-1409636973.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map of the catchment regions of the garbage patches, suggesting that the true boundaries between the oceans don’t match the internationally recognised ones. Land masses are shown in white.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Froyland et al, Chaos, 2014.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Blame still hard to pin down</h2>
<p>Even armed with this new knowledge, attributing blame for the different patches is not going to be easy. The currents have been mapped quite well, but not the density of the plastics throughout the ocean. </p>
<p>To find the culprits, we need to know not only where the garbage patches are, but also the distribution of the debris that is still making its years-long voyage towards the patches. If we know that, we’ll know which are the most influential currents that ferry litter around the world, and we’ll be able to trace them back to the places where people are dropping it.</p>
<p>That’s research for the future, to be done with the help of groups like <a href="http://5gyres.org">5Gyres</a>, which sample water all over the world to detect debris. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, what we can say from our new map is that countries don’t necessarily contribute garbage to their “local” ocean, according to our conventional ocean boundaries. </p>
<p>To further complicate things, our research also suggests that the garbage patches are leaky. Even though plastic accumulates in the garbage patches, it doesn’t stay there forever. We found that all patches exchange material with their neighbours to varying degrees. </p>
<p>The littering of the ocean is therefore ultimately a global problem. Given the practical difficulties of removing this litter from the oceans, and the fact that it lingers for decades, the world needs to realise that we are all in this together.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31163/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erik van Sebille receives funding from the Australian Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary Froyland receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Most of us have littered at one time or another, and in the process we probably contributed to the enormous of amounts of plastic that enter the ocean every year, eventually ending up in one of the five…Erik van Sebille, Research Fellow and Lecturer in Oceanography, UNSW SydneyGary Froyland, Professor of Mathematics, ARC Future Fellow, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/216042014-02-13T19:34:21Z2014-02-13T19:34:21ZA hitchhiker’s ride to New Zealand: alien voyages by sea and air<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/38507/original/c72zphsf-1388983804.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No matter how well a country like New Zealand protects its borders, introduced species will sneak in.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland University of Technology</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong><em>Historically, geographically, culturally – there are many points of comparison between Australia and its neighbour to the east, New Zealand. But there are notable differences.</em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em>This week, The Conversation, in conjunction with <a href="http://griffithreview.com/">Griffith REVIEW</a>, has published essays on the arts; the environment; on the economic and emotional ties that bind people to land, and land to the rest of humanity. We’ve taken a fresh look at the 21st-century world that exists just beyond the ditch. This is the final piece in the series.</em></strong></p>
<p>In the sub-tropical Pacific Ocean, <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/auckland/kermadec-islands/kermadec-islands/">160 kilometres south-west of Raoul Island</a>, Lieutenant Tim Oscar stared out of the window of the ship’s bridge. Behind him were the heaving grey seas the ship had been battling all night. Before him, a vast white expanse glowed in the moonlight. Oscar braced himself, as if the ship was about to hit an ice shelf.</p>
<p>But there was no ice, not at this latitude. The ship’s lights soon revealed a <a href="http://www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/volcano/3109hom4.jpg">raft of pumice</a> stretching out either side of the ship, further than he could see. The ship ploughed through the metre-thick jumble of floating rock for half an hour, then sailed on.</p>
<p>It was midnight on 9 August 2012, and I was asleep downstairs in a cabin shared with a geologist, two marine biologists, a journalist and a marine educator. We’d seen some pumice in the water the day before, floating towards us in long ribbons of white and grey, but nothing like this.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41436/original/qxw2yzb8-1392261595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41436/original/qxw2yzb8-1392261595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41436/original/qxw2yzb8-1392261595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41436/original/qxw2yzb8-1392261595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41436/original/qxw2yzb8-1392261595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41436/original/qxw2yzb8-1392261595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41436/original/qxw2yzb8-1392261595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41436/original/qxw2yzb8-1392261595.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A giant pumice raft in the south-west Pacific.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/QUT, Erika Fish</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As we sailed north into the night, this giant floating pumice raft, the size of a small country, was heading for our home in New Zealand, and it was bringing visitors.</p>
<p>Next morning, as Tim Oscar tells us about his pumice encounter – “it was one of the weirdest things I’ve seen in 18 years at sea” – we weigh anchor next to Raoul Island, the northernmost of the remote and uninhabited Kermadec Islands. We’re 1000km north of Auckland, yet we’re still in New Zealand. The seas are too rough for a boat to hazard the rocky landing platform so we transfer to the island by helicopter.</p>
<p>The island is young, the tip of an underwater volcano that emerged out of the ocean only one million years ago. The plants and animals that live on and around Raoul have all arrived from somewhere else – from Tonga or Aotearoa or Australia – and many are only subtly different from species found in my home islands. <a href="http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/pohutukawa-flowers">Pohutukawa</a> and <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-plants/nikau-palm/">nikau</a> forests cover the hills above the craters at the centre of Raoul Island. <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/nz-parakeet-kakariki/nz-parakeet-kakariki/">Kakariki</a> and <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/tui/">tui</a> flit about the trees and ungainly <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/pukeko/">pukeko</a> strut through the grass around our tents.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41350/original/jdzc8jqb-1392186758.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41350/original/jdzc8jqb-1392186758.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41350/original/jdzc8jqb-1392186758.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41350/original/jdzc8jqb-1392186758.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41350/original/jdzc8jqb-1392186758.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41350/original/jdzc8jqb-1392186758.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41350/original/jdzc8jqb-1392186758.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41350/original/jdzc8jqb-1392186758.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A pukeko.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/quiltsalad/4129788173/sizes/l/">Quiltsalad/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On the sandy beach of Denham Bay, below the forest-covered cliffs, long streams of fresh pumice mark the high tide. Offshore, a sailor in an inflatable boat retrieves a soccer-balled sized rock of pumice from the water.</p>
<p>When we re-board the ship, <a href="http://www.niwa.co.nz/people/helen-bostock">Helen Bostock</a> and I, both trained as geologists, are preoccupied with the rough texture and unexpected heaviness of this massive waterlogged chunk of pumice. We fail to notice what Libby Liggins, a marine biologist, spots and smells immediately. Minute <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Goose_barnacle">goose barnacles</a>, tiny little probes reaching up from the volcanic clast, adhere to one side of the rock.</p>
<h2>Outlandish freaks</h2>
<p>After a week at Raoul we sail for home, the biggest lump of pumice bound for Auckland Museum, and smaller pieces kept by Helen for geochemical analysis. On our voyage south we’re accompanied by migrating humpback whales, traveling from Tonga to their Antarctic feeding grounds. Other creatures – turtles, dolphins and sharks – island hop, travelling from Raoul, to Macaulay, to Curtis and Cheeseman, and on to the rocky stacks of L’Havre and L’Esperance. Some of them journey south of the Kermadecs to feed around the northern beaches of the North Island.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41348/original/pp34qjg9-1392184970.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41348/original/pp34qjg9-1392184970.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41348/original/pp34qjg9-1392184970.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41348/original/pp34qjg9-1392184970.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41348/original/pp34qjg9-1392184970.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41348/original/pp34qjg9-1392184970.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41348/original/pp34qjg9-1392184970.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41348/original/pp34qjg9-1392184970.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Kermadec Islands in New Zealand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kermadec_Islands_in_New_Zealand.svg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our home is another group of remote islands in the middle of an ocean. In <a href="http://www.craigpotton.co.nz/store/ghosts-of-gondwana">Ghosts of Gondwana</a>, entomologist and biogeographer George Gibbs refers to New Zealand’s native fauna as the “outlandish freaks” of the natural world. New Zealand’s main islands, once part of the large continent of Gondwana, broke away eighty million years ago, when the Tasman Sea created a rift between what is now Australia and New Zealand. With so many years in isolation, our species followed distinctive, and often eccentric, evolutionary paths. In the absence of mammalian predators, our birds grew fat and flightless and our insects and snails <a href="http://creationrevolution.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/12-2-11-DJ-Weta-21.jpg">gargantuan</a>.</p>
<p>The weirdness of our biota, and the gaps in our ecology – we have no land mammals, snakes or turtles and are missing aggressive species of ants, wasps and termites – mean our ecosystem is particularly vulnerable to introduced species.</p>
<h2>Foreign invaders</h2>
<p>More than 2000 cargo ships arrive in New Zealand each year, bringing cars from Japan, clothes from China and electronics from Korea. Tourists come too, on cruise ships that berth in Auckland or private yachts that sail to the Bay of Islands. Another five million visitors arrive by air.</p>
<p>To protect both our unique biodiversity and our agricultural economy from overseas invaders, all international visitors are subject to vigorous pre-arrival checks and requirements. Some bioinvaders, though, sneak in and are intercepted at the border, like the fruit flies infesting a cargo of bananas from Queensland, the venomous snake hiding in a shipping container of washing machines from Thailand, and the eggs of the Asian gypsy moth found in the wheel of a Japanese car.</p>
<p>But it’s not just the cargo that brings intruders. When ships fill their tanks with ballast water, used to maintain stability while they’re sailing, they take on board whatever marine life is in that water – up to a thousand tiny marine organisms in every cubic metre. Some of the water-borne plankton species are microscopic, like <a href="http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/protista/dinoflagellata.html">dinoflagellates</a> and <a href="http://invertebrates.si.edu/copepod/">copepods</a>, but others are the larvae or young of larger species. Inside the enclosed ecosystem of the darkened ballast tank, some of these species can feed and grow and breed. If the water taken on in a distant port is discharged in New Zealand, it might bring with it exotic and unwanted fish, crabs, and algae.</p>
<p>Other unwanted arrivals ride on the outside of ships. Sessile plants and animals such as seaweeds, barnacles and mussels typically spend their lives in one place, affixed to a rock. But if they attach to the underwater parts of ships, to the hull or rudder or propeller, they can travel the world.</p>
<p>Anti-fouling paint and regulations around ballast water discharge stop some unwanted pests from arriving, but others still sneak through. Those interlopers that survive – if the temperature is right and they find food to eat – can displace native species, upset fisheries, and clog waterways.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41431/original/zcwz4qhb-1392258431.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41431/original/zcwz4qhb-1392258431.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41431/original/zcwz4qhb-1392258431.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41431/original/zcwz4qhb-1392258431.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41431/original/zcwz4qhb-1392258431.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41431/original/zcwz4qhb-1392258431.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=629&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41431/original/zcwz4qhb-1392258431.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=629&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41431/original/zcwz4qhb-1392258431.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=629&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A biosecurity beagle puppy at Auckland Airport.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/19665894@N00/3416486662/in/photolist-6cUoss#">nznationalparty/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At passenger arrival halls, trained beagles sniff out biological contraband that some people unwittingly – or furtively – try to bring into the country. European salamis that could harbour foot and mouth disease, wood products that could carry termites, and North American honey that could carry bacterial diseases, are confiscated and destroyed.</p>
<p>This “offending”, though, is nothing new. Humans have been helping species arrive in New Zealand since they first visited these islands. Radiocarbon dating of fossils suggests that early Polynesian voyagers brought the Polynesian rat, or <a href="http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/kiore-pacific-rats">kiore</a>, here in the 13th century. When James Cook stopped here in 1769, he left pigs and potatoes as food for later voyagers, but may have also inadvertently added to the marine faunal assemblage. In 1769, while at anchor, he ordered his crew to scrub the hull of the <em>Endeavour</em> – twice – to remove the build-up of barnacles and seaweeds. Any plants or animals he introduced to New Zealand’s coastal waters would now be indistinguishable from native species. </p>
<p>In the 19th century, European settlers tried to create a sense of home, and provide food, by introducing fish to the rivers, fruit, vegetables and livestock to the land, and songbirds to the trees. Some species, like rabbits, got out of control, but the stoats that were introduced to control them preferred local lizards and the eggs of native birds.</p>
<h2>Tiny hitchhikers</h2>
<p>Two days after leaving Raoul Island, we arrive at Auckland, the busiest port in New Zealand. We don’t need to declare our goose-barnacle infested pumice: despite our 1000km voyage, we never left New Zealand waters. I hand it to <a href="http://kermadec.aucklandmuseum.com/expedition-team/dr-tom-trnski/">Tom Trnski</a>, from Auckland Museum, who will later give it pride of place in a new exhibition about the marine environment.</p>
<p>Helen gives the smaller pumice samples to volcanologist <a href="http://www.niwa.co.nz/key-contacts/richard-wysoczanski">Richard Wysoczanski</a>. Over the next few weeks, Richard and his students match the rocks’ distinctive geochemical signature to the Havre volcano, a massive underwater caldera discovered only 20 years before and, until now, believed to be extinct.</p>
<p>Then, in November, Richard sails on the <a href="http://www.niwa.co.nz/">National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)</a> research vessel <em>Tangaroa</em> to Havre, where 3D mapping of the seafloor reveals the source of our pumice raft. A massive new volcanic cone, about the size of Auckland’s Rangitoto Island, rises 240 metres above the previous crater rim. Inside the 5km-wide caldera, the seafloor is covered in a layer of pumice ten metres deep.</p>
<p>In the ocean west of Havre, the <em>Tangaroa</em> sails through floating streams of pumice, more remnants of the several cubic kilometres of rock – basalt, ash and pumice – ejected in what Richard now realises was a massive underwater volcanic eruption.</p>
<p>While certainly not new to the oceans, pumice rafts are relatively new to science. In July 2012, Queensland University of Technology volcanologist <a href="http://staff.qut.edu.au/staff/bryan3/">Scott Bryan</a> published a <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0040583">paper</a> about an enormous pumice raft created by an eruption at Home Reef Volcano in Tonga. Bryan tracked the journey of this “temporary pumice island” more than 5000 kilometres over eight months. By the time it washed up on the beaches near where Bryan lives and works, the pumice was home to a complex ecosystem, with up to 80 different species of algae, bryozoan, corals, anemones, bivalves and gastropods.</p>
<p>Pumice is an excellent raft for oceanic mass transit because it can’t be eaten by its host and does not decay in the sun and sea. But it’s only one of many rafting methods. Masses of brown fibrous bull-kelp found on Otago beaches have been found to carry tiny hitchhikers – goose barnacles, crustaceans, sea stars, snails and limpets – from their sub-Antarctic island homes. Driftwood carries burrowing insects or fouling organisms from Australia to our west coast beaches, and plastic rubbish and nets abandoned by fishing vessels raft invasive species to our shores.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41432/original/fddh7qr8-1392259468.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41432/original/fddh7qr8-1392259468.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41432/original/fddh7qr8-1392259468.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41432/original/fddh7qr8-1392259468.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41432/original/fddh7qr8-1392259468.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41432/original/fddh7qr8-1392259468.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41432/original/fddh7qr8-1392259468.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41432/original/fddh7qr8-1392259468.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A yellow admiral butterfly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/0ystercatcher/7123733981/sizes/l/">0ystercatcher/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Above the waves, the dominant westerly winds bring a near constant steam of aerial invaders from across the Tasman Sea. Butterflies with names like blue moon and painted lady fly in from Australia’s east coast, brightening the palette of New Zealand’s Lepidoptera. Butterflies often intentionally fly long distances – like the yellow admiral whose New Zealand population is boosted by visitors from Australia – but other more hapless insects can just get caught up in the air flow. </p>
<p>Tiny creatures like aphids and thrips, which don’t usually fly far or high – or spiders, which have no wings at all – can find themselves airborne. Strong thermals, where heat from the ground pushes the air above it high into the atmosphere, can collect these tiny critters from their terrestrial habitats and take them thousands of metres into the atmosphere. If they reach a westerly airflow, they can be carried across the Tasman, a 2000 kilometre journey, in a matter of days. Those that aren’t eaten by a sharp-eyed bird, plunged into the ocean by a rainstorm, or frozen at high altitude might make landfall in New Zealand.</p>
<h2>Desert dust and nuclear fallout</h2>
<p>This aerial plankton raining down on us also contains smaller invaders. In the otherwise pristine snow of the Southern Alps, scientists have found pollen grains from Australian species, and patches of red dust that match the sun-scorched earths of the Australian interior. More worrying are the travelling plant pathogens, like the tiny fungal spores that can bring exotic diseases to our trees and crops.</p>
<p>The air is also filled with tiny spores of algae, mosses and liverworts, and bacteria, viruses and protozoa. Only a tiny percentage of these life forms could survive a journey across the Tasman, but some make the journey inside a raindrop or ice crystal protected by their watery cocoon.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41433/original/jngrk9g2-1392260528.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41433/original/jngrk9g2-1392260528.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41433/original/jngrk9g2-1392260528.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41433/original/jngrk9g2-1392260528.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41433/original/jngrk9g2-1392260528.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41433/original/jngrk9g2-1392260528.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41433/original/jngrk9g2-1392260528.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41433/original/jngrk9g2-1392260528.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The front page of The News, Adelaide, 15 October 1953.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/exhibitions/boland/eventOz1953.htm">State Library of South Australia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some of the most sinister airborne particles to arrive on our shores are too small to see, like the first radioactive fallout detected in Wellington, 30 hours after the 1953 <a href="https://theconversation.com/dig-for-secrets-the-lesson-of-maralingas-vixen-b-15456">British nuclear test at Woomera</a> in South Australia. </p>
<p>Longer lasting and more threatening radioactive isotopes came to be routine arrivals, as radioactive fallout – including particles of strontium-90 and caesium-137 – landed from the American, British and French hydrogen bomb tests in the Pacific islands north of New Zealand. These invisible particles rained down on our islands, where they got into the soil, then into the grass, then into the cows whose milk we drank. Babies born in the 1960s, like me, have radioactive strontium and caesium isotopes in our bodies in places where calcium and iodine should be.</p>
<h2>Strange findings</h2>
<p>Months after the voyage, in February 2013, I get an email from Maggie de Grauw, who had first spotted the Havre volcano pumice raft from a plane heading to Auckland from Samoa, and with whom I’d started an email correspondence. She writes to me of some “strange findings” on Opoutere beach in the Coromandel. Across the spit from a protected area where dotterels and oystercatchers patrol and feed, unusual shell-encrusted masses have washed up along the shore. She recognises the substrate as pumice. I recognise the phallic-looking hitchhikers as adult goose barnacles. </p>
<p>That same week, people in my Twitter stream start posting photos and tweeting about strange things washed up on Auckland beaches and on islands in the Hauraki Gulf. “Found this rock at the beach today, with mystery shellfish attached to it by strong black feet. Baby paua? Aliens?” tweets Jolisa Gracewood. “Goose barnacles!” I say in reply. Jolisa found only one rock, but Maggie returns to the beach, puts some goose barnacle-encrusted pumice in a <a href="http://kiwipedia-nz.blogspot.com.au/2010/03/chilly-bin.html">chilly bin</a> filled with salt water, and sends it to Wellington. </p>
<p>Geochemical analysis by Richard Wysoczanski confirms this was the same pumice we had encountered six months earlier – from the eruption of the Havre volcano – in the Kermadec Islands. Biologists study the critters on board; along with three species of goose barnacle, are a crab and some <a href="http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/IntroBryozoa.htm">bryozoan</a>, picked up somewhere along the journey. Not real aliens, but at least one of the species was alien to these waters – the sub-tropical goose neck barnacle <em>Lepas anserifera</em> is not usually seen this far south.</p>
<p>Over the weeks that follow more pumice washes up on North Island beaches, with biological cargo on board, but most is unseen and unstudied. More floats to Australia’s east coast beaches. One massive raft, which hits the Great Barrier Reef, is laden with marine hitchhikers, including bristle worms and anemones as well as barnacles and bryozoan. Scott Bryan, the Queensland volcanologist who studied the Home Reef pumice raft, says this is the largest pumice raft the world has seen in the past 50 years.</p>
<h2>Imported locals</h2>
<p>Our New Zealand biodiversity is bizarre, original, and precious, but it’s constantly changing. Already, many of the species we think of as our own are recent arrivals. The large flightless <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/takahe/">takahe</a> evolved from a pukeko-like bird that flew here from Australia. Today’s <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/pukeko/">pukeko</a> – now found in the main islands of New Zealand and on Raoul Island – is a more recent Australian import. Our parakeets evolved from a parrot from New Caledonia. The silvereye, white-faced heron and welcome swallow, have all arrived in the past two centuries. </p>
<p>Most of our dragonflies are Australian. The monarch butterfly is Californian. Almost all of our plants have arrived from somewhere else, through pollen blown on the wind, or seeds carried in the feathers and digestive tracts of birds. The Pacific oysters we harvest and the salmon we catch in our rivers are introduced species.</p>
<p>We need to try to keep out the worst invaders – the aggressive species that could displace native species or destroy our agriculture and aquaculture – but we won’t keep things the same forever. New species will continue to arrive of their own accord, on the winds, on the waves and, just occasionally, on a raft of pumice. And, as the planet warms, more northern species will find the New Zealand environment habitable and will settle here, as part of the slow worldwide march of species towards the poles.</p>
<p>Maggie, who saw the pumice raft first from the air and again when it washed up on the beach beside her, is a <a href="http://www.fossick.co.nz/pumice.htm">jeweller and a fossicker</a> who has always made jewellery out of the things she finds on the beach. I now wear a piece of pumice from the Havre volcano around my neck, a memento of my own voyage to the Kermadec islands, but also a reminder of longer voyages, and voyagers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/21604/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Priestley sailed to the Kermadecs in August 2012 on the HMNZS Canterbury as part of a team of experts sponsored by Pew Environment Group.</span></em></p>Historically, geographically, culturally – there are many points of comparison between Australia and its neighbour to the east, New Zealand. But there are notable differences. This week, The Conversation…Rebecca Priestley, Senior Lecturer-Science in Context, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.