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Ecological Implications of Meiofaunal Biofouling on Marine Plastic Debris during Golden Tides
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Scientists found that plastic bottles, buoys, and other debris washed up during algae blooms carry hitchhiking sea creatures, including invasive species and parasites. Plastic bottles, though less covered in these organisms overall, seemed to attract more potentially harmful species than flip-flops did. This doesn't prove these hitchhikers survive and cause harm, but it suggests ocean plastic could help spread invasive or parasitic species to new coastlines.
Large amounts of marine plastic debris (MPD) and Sargassum horneri were stranded on Naechi Beach, located on the southwestern coast of Korea, during the golden tide event. This event highlighted the MPD’s role in dispersing meiofaunal biofouling organisms, including invasive and parasitic species. To investigate meiofaunal biofouling, the following MPD, including foreign-sourced materials, were collected and categorized according to item type. Morphological identification and DNA metabarcoding characterized meiofaunal biofouling (40–1000 μm) associated with the MPD, identifying 14 taxa from 6 phyla and 169 species from 12 phyla, respectively. The integrated abundance was 19–118 inds. 0.1 m–2, with an average of 76 inds. 0.1 m–2. Slippers (polyvinyl chloride, PVC) had the highest abundance, while bottles (polyethylene terephthalate) had the lowest. Notably, the larvae of invasive species Ciona intestinalis (tunicate) and parasitic platyhelminthes Plagiorchis maculosus were detected by metabarcoding on PET (bottles), while the invasive species Ficopomatus enigmaticus (Annelida) and parasitic nematode Spinitectus macrospinosus were detected on both bottles (PET) and buoys (PE). Accordingly, MPD-associated species may facilitate the introduction of harmful species into new habitats. Although less abundant in meiofaunal biofouling, bottles (PET) showed a stronger association with potentially invasive and parasitic taxa than slippers (PVC), suggesting that bottles (PET) and buoy (PE) may warrant greater attention than PVC as potential vectors during golden tide events. However, the study does not directly demonstrate survival, settlement, invasion success, or ecological impacts after transport, and these results should be interpreted as indicating potential ecological concern rather than confirmed impact. These findings suggest that golden tides accompanied by MPD can facilitate the long-distance dispersal of invasive and parasitic meiofauna, potentially increasing ecological risk to newly colonized coasts.
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