Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Data Collection on Marine Litter Ingestion in Sea Turtles and Thresholds for Good Environmental Status
Published on: May 18, 2019
Leave no traces - Beached marine litter shelters both invasive and native species
Eva Garcia-Vazquez1, Alessandra Cani2, Anna Diem3
1University of Oviedo, Department of Functional Biology, Natural Resources Research Group, C/ Julian Claveria s/n, 33006 Oviedo, Spain.
Abstract:
Marine litter has been considered a potential transport vector of non-indigenous species. In this study developed in Tjärnö (Sweden), at the entry of the Baltic Sea, the communities inhabiting coastal litter and natural substrates (N = 5448 macroorganisms) were monitored from eight sites of different ecological conditions. The results showed that litter can support high densities of marine organisms and represent a new habitat in the studied coast. The taxonomic profile of the communities supported by marine litter and hard natural substrate were significantly different. Moreover, opposite to the expectations of reduced diversity in artificial structures, more diverse communities were found on litter. Non-indigenous species were attached mainly to non-plastic artificial materials. From these results it can be concluded that marine litter can significantly alter the biotic composition of coastal ecosystem, representing a shelter for invasive species and diverse natives.
More Related Videos
10:20Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter
Published on: March 12, 2013
12:26Integrating Remote Sensing with Species Distribution Models; Mapping Tamarisk Invasions Using the Software for Assisted Habitat Modeling SAHM
Published on: October 11, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Leaving Groups
In general, in a nucleophilic substitution reaction, a nucleophile displaces a functional group, called the leaving group, from the substrate to give a substituted product. A leaving group departs the substrate molecule through heterolytic cleavage, taking the pair of electrons with it to become a relatively stable weak base in the form of an anion or a neutral molecule.
In a...
Keystone Species
What is a Species?
Formation of Species
Threats to Biodiversity
Basic Plant Anatomy: Roots, Stems, and Leaves