Marine biodiversity observed on the great pacific garbage patch

Plastic pollution is one of the biggest concerns in the 21st century especially in marine environments where it can choke oceanic animals as well as microplastics building up in marine food chains. Plastic waste being dumped into the ocean as well as being pulled into the oceans due to wind currants has even led to artificial land masses being formed. The largest of these being the great pacific garbage patch, locally known as "garbage island" these garbage patches are a cause for concern due to the amount of damage they could do to the surrounding ecosystem such as fish and birds becoming trapped in the immense plastic mass. In recent years studies have shown that marine organisms have began living on these garbage patches. This creates further problems and complications for various concerned bodies who wish to deal with these patches. The purpose of this article is to examine the currant studies looking at these colonies of organisms living on these great masses of plastic and problems they may cause for the wider ecosystems.

Background

Obligate neuston refers to marine surface-dwelling organisms, these animals form a critical ecological link between diverse ecosystems. These neustons include various species of cnidarians, barnacles, molluscs copepods and algae. These taxa make up a nexus of various food webs that include diverse seabirds, fish and turtles making these animals essential for the survival of numerous species. Even though these neustons are globally distributed only the sargasso sea has high concentrations of neustonic life making the sea a key biodiversity hotspot. Supported by these neuston the sargasso sea is key to the ecology of the north Atlantic (Chong. F et al, 2022). Gyres refers to the currant systems of the ocean, they include various surface movements in global oceans. Plastic forms the basis for what