Prey-Size Plastics Are Invading Larval Fish Nurseries
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
New research shows that many larval fish species from different ocean habitats are ingesting plastics in their preferred nursery habitat.
Many of the world's marine fish spend their first days to weeks feeding and developing at the ocean surface. Larval fish are the next generation of adult fish that will supply protein and essential nutrients to people around the world. However, little is known about the ocean processes that affect the survival of larval fish. NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and an international team of scientists conducted one of the most ambitious studies to date to learn where larval fish spend their time and what they eat while there.
The study will be published November 11, 2019 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers combined field-based plankton tow surveys and advanced remote sensing techniques to identify larval fish nursery habitats in the coastal waters of Hawai'i.
The team found that surface slicks contained far more larval fish than neighboring surface waters. Surface slicks are naturally occurring, ribbon-like, smooth water features at the ocean surface. They are formed when internal ocean waves converge near coastlines and are observed in coastal marine ecosystems worldwide. The surface slicks also aggregate plankton, which is an important food resource for larval fish.
[...] Larval fish in the surface slicks were larger, well-developed, and had increased swimming abilities. Larval fish that actively swim will better respond and orient to their environment. This suggests that tropical larval fish are actively seeking surface slicks to capitalize on concentrated prey.
Unfortunately, the team also discovered that the same ocean processes that aggregated prey for larval fish also concentrated buoyant, passively floating plastics. "We were shocked to find that so many of our samples were dominated by plastics," said Dr. Whitney.
Journal Reference:
Jamison M. Gove, et. al. Prey-size plastics are invading larval fish nurseries. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019; 201907496 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1907496116
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