Instituto de Ciências do Mar (LABOMAR), Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, Brazil; Reef Systems Research Group, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Bremen, Germany; Center for Marine and Environmental Studies (CMES), University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), Saint Thomas, Charlotte Amalie, United States of America.
Instituto de Ciências do Mar (LABOMAR), Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, Brazil.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Nov 20;900:165637. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165637. Epub 2023 Jul 23.
Anthropogenic marine debris and invasive species are pervasive in the ocean. However, research on the mechanisms and dynamics controlling their distribution in marine systems (e.g.; by floating debris acting as vectors for invasive species) is limited. Applying a numerical modeling approach, we demonstrate that rafting invasive corals (Tubastraea spp.) can be transported over long distances and reach important tropical receptor regions. In <180 days, buoyant debris can cover distances between 264 and 7170 km moving from the Brazilian semiarid coast to the Amazon coast and reaching eight regions in the Wider Caribbean (mainly the Eastern Caribbean and Greater Antilles). Analyzing 48 simulated scenarios (4 years × 3 depths × 4 months), we demonstrate that in ~86 % of the scenarios the particles are stranded in the Caribbean and in ~71 % they end up in the Amazon coast. Our results showed litter floating trajectories at 0-10 m water depth, transported every year to the Caribbean province. However, in August this transport is frequently blocked by the retroflection of the North Brazil Current adjacent to the Amazon River estuarine plume. Our results indicate routes for fast and long-distance transport of litter-rafting invasive species. We hypothesized a high risk of bioinvasion on important marine ecosystems (e.g., coral reefs) likely becoming increasingly threatened by these invasive species and debris. This highlights the imperative need for an ocean governance shift in prevention, control, and eradication, not only focused on local actions to prevent the spread of invasive species but also a broad international action to decrease and mitigate marine debris pollution globally.
人为海洋垃圾和入侵物种在海洋中普遍存在。然而，关于控制它们在海洋系统中分布的机制和动态的研究（例如，漂浮的垃圾作为入侵物种的载体）是有限的。通过应用数值建模方法，我们证明了浮筏入侵珊瑚（Tubastraea 属）可以长距离运输，并到达重要的热带受体区域。在<180 天内，浮筏垃圾可以覆盖 264 到 7170 公里的距离，从巴西半干旱海岸移动到亚马逊海岸，并到达宽加勒比地区的八个区域（主要是东加勒比和大安的列斯群岛）。分析 48 个模拟情景（4 年×3 个深度×4 个月），我们证明在86%的情景中，颗粒在加勒比地区搁浅，在71%的情景中，它们最终到达亚马逊海岸。我们的结果显示了 0-10 米水深的垃圾漂浮轨迹，每年都被输送到加勒比地区。然而，在 8 月，北巴西流的折返经常阻止这种输送，该折返紧邻亚马逊河河口羽流。我们的结果表明了垃圾浮筏入侵物种的快速长距离运输路线。我们假设，在重要的海洋生态系统（例如珊瑚礁）中，生物入侵的风险很高，这些入侵物种和垃圾可能使这些生态系统越来越受到威胁。这突显了海洋治理必须转变，不仅要注重预防、控制和根除本地行动，以防止入侵物种的传播，还要采取广泛的国际行动，减少和减轻全球海洋垃圾污染。
