Secular Café: How Life Crosses Oceans

Secular Café Serious discussion of science, skepticism, evolution, pseudoscience, and the paranormal

How Life Crosses Oceans Jun 12th 2012, 10:27 I'm sure you've heard of the Japanese boat dock torn loose by the tsunami and now drifting ashore in Oregon across the Pacific Ocean. I LOVE it. Clams found a way to cross the ocean. :) Everyone is in an uproar about "invasive species" but isn't this really a perfect example of how life survives and evolves. Quote: Floating dock from Japan carries potential invasive species When debris from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan began making its way toward the West Coast of the United States, there were fears of possible radiation and chemical contamination as well as costly cleanup. But a floating dock that unexpectedly washed ashore in Newport this week and has been traced back to the Japanese disaster has brought with it a completely different threat – invasive species. Scientists at Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center said the cement float contains about 13 pounds of organisms per square foot. Already they have gathered samples of 4–6 species of barnacles, starfish, urchins, anemones, amphipods, worms, mussels, limpets, snails, solitary tunicates and algae – and there are dozens of species overall. "This float is an island unlike any transoceanic debris we have ever seen," said John Chapman, an OSU marine invasive species specialist. "Drifting boats lack such dense fouling communities, and few of these species are already on this coast. Nearly all of the species we've looked at were established on the float before the tsunami; few came after it was at sea." Chapman said it was "mind-boggling" how these organisms survived their trek across the Pacific Ocean. The low productivity of open-ocean waters should have starved at least some of the organisms, he said. "It is as if the float drifted over here by hugging the coasts, but that is of course impossible," Chapman said. "Life on the open ocean, while drifting, may be more gentle for these organisms than we initially suspected. Invertebrates can survive for months without food and the most abundant algae species may not have had the normal compliment of herbivores. Still, it is surprising." Jessica Miller, an Oregon State University marine ecologist, said that a brown algae (Undaria pinnatifida), commonly called wakame, was present across most of the dock – and plainly stood out when she examined it in the fading evening light. She said the algae is native to the western Pacific Ocean in Asia, and has invaded several regions including southern California. The species identification was confirmed by OSU phycologist Gayle Hansen. .... http://environmentalresearchweb.org/...yournews/49899

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions