Solving the plastic problem: From cradle to grave, to reincarnation

Plastic packaging accounts for 36% of all plastics made, but amounts to 47% of all plastic waste; 90% of all plastic items are used once and then discarded, which corresponds to around 50% of the total mass of plastics manufactured. Evidence for the ubiquity of microplastic pollution is accumulating rapidly, and wherever such material is sought, it seems to be found. Thus, microplastics have been identified in Arctic ice, the air, food and drinking water, soils, rivers, aquifers, remote maintain regions, glaciers, the oceans and ocean sediments, including waters and deep sea sediments around Antarctica, and within the deepest marine trenches of the Earth. They have also been detected in the bodies of animals, including humans, and as being passed along the hierarchy of food chains, up to marine top predators. Evidence has also been presented that microplastics are able to cross different life stages of mosquito that use different habitats - larva (feeding) to pupa (non-feeding) to adult terrestrial (flying) - and therefore can be spread from aquatic systems by flying insects. The so-called 'missing plastic problem' appears to be, in part, due to limitations in sampling methods, that is, many of the very small microplastic particles may simply escape capture in the trawl nets that are typically employed to collect them, but have been evidenced in grab-sampling experiments. Moreover, it is simply not possible to measure entirely through the vast, oceanic volumes of the oceans. It can, however, be concluded with some confidence that the majority of the plastic is not located at the sea surface, and indeed, several different sinks have been proposed for microplastics, including the sea floor and sediments, the ocean column itself, ice sheets, glaciers and soils. The treatment of land with sewage sludge is also thought to make a significant contribution of microplastics to soil. A substantial amount of airborne microparticulate pollution is created by the abrasion of tyres on road surfaces (and other 'non-exhaust' sources), meaning that even electric vehicles are not 'clean' in this regard, despite their elimination of tailpipe PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ emissions. The emergence of nanoplastics in the environment poses a new set of potential threats, although any impacts on human health are not yet known, save, as indicated from model studies. While improved design, manufacture, collection, reuse, repurposing and reprocessing/recycling of plastic items are necessary, overwhelmingly, a curbing in the use of plastic materials in the first place is demanded, particularly from single-use packaging. However, plastic pollution is just one element in the overall matrix of a changing climate ('the world's woes') and must be addressed as part of an integrated consideration of how we use all resources, fossil and otherwise, and the need to change our expectations, goals and lifestyles. In this effort, the role of deglobalisation/relocalisation may prove critical: thus, food and other necessities might be produced more on the local than the global scale, with smaller inputs of fossil fuels for transportation and other purposes, water and fertilisers, along with a marked reduction in the need for plastic packaging.

Solving the plastic problem: From cradle to grave, to reincarnation

Plastic packaging accounts for 36% of all plastics made, but amounts to 47% of all plastic waste; 90% of all plastic items are used once and then discarded, which corresponds to around 50% of the total mass of plastics manufactured. Evidence for the ubiquity of microplastic pollution is accumulating rapidly, and wherever such material is sought, it seems to be found. Thus, microplastics have been identified in Arctic ice, the air, food and drinking water, soils, rivers, aquifers, remote maintain regions, glaciers, the oceans and ocean sediments, including waters and deep sea sediments around Antarctica, and within the deepest marine trenches of the Earth. They have also been detected in the bodies of animals, including humans, and as being passed along the hierarchy of food chains, up to marine top predators. Evidence has also been presented that microplastics are able to cross different life stages of mosquito that use different habitats - larva (feeding) to pupa (non-feeding) to adult terrestrial (flying) - and therefore can be spread from aquatic systems by flying insects. The so-called 'missing plastic problem' appears to be, in part, due to limitations in sampling methods, that is, many of the very small microplastic particles may simply escape capture in the trawl nets that are typically employed to collect them, but have been evidenced in grab-sampling experiments. Moreover, it is simply not possible to measure entirely through the vast, oceanic volumes of the oceans. It can, however, be concluded with some confidence that the majority of the plastic is not located at the sea surface, and indeed, several different sinks have been proposed for microplastics, including the sea floor and sediments, the ocean column itself, ice sheets, glaciers and soils. The treatment of land with sewage sludge is also thought to make a significant contribution of microplastics to soil. A substantial amount of airborne microparticulate pollution is created by the abrasion of tyres on road surfaces (and other 'non-exhaust' sources), meaning that even electric vehicles are not 'clean' in this regard, despite their elimination of tailpipe PM2.5 and PM10 emissions. The emergence of nanoplastics in the environment poses a new set of potential threats, although any impacts on human health are not yet known, save, as indicated from model studies. While improved design, manufacture, collection, reuse, repurposing and reprocessing/recycling of plastic items are necessary, overwhelmingly, a curbing in the use of plastic materials in the first place is demanded, particularly from single-use packaging. However, plastic pollution is just one element in the overall matrix of a changing climate ('the world's woes') and must be addressed as part of an integrated consideration of how we use all resources, fossil and otherwise, and the need to change our expectations, goals and lifestyles. In this effort, the role of deglobalisation/relocalisation may prove critical: thus, food and other necessities might be produced more on the local than the global scale, with smaller inputs of fossil fuels for transportation and other purposes, water and fertilisers, along with a marked reduction in the need for plastic packaging.

Phylogenetics and biogeography of the two-wing flyingfish (Exocoetidae: Exocoetus)

Two-wing flyingfish (Exocoetus spp.) are widely distributed, epipelagic, mid-trophic organisms that feed on zooplankton and are preyed upon by numerous predators (e.g., tunas, dolphinfish, tropical seabirds), yet an understanding of their speciation and systematics is lacking. As a model of epipelagic fish speciation and to investigate mechanisms that increase biodiversity, we studied the phylogeny and biogeography of Exocoetus, a highly abundant holoepipelagic fish taxon of the tropical open ocean. Morphological and molecular data were used to evaluate the phylogenetic relationships, species boundaries, and biogeographic patterns of the five putative Exocoetus species. We show that the most widespread species (E. volitans) is sister to all other species, and we find no evidence for cryptic species in this taxon. Sister relationship between E. monocirrhus (Indo-Pacific) and E. obtusirostris (Atlantic) indicates the Isthmus of Panama and/or Benguela Barrier may have played a role in their divergence via allopatric speciation. The sister species E. peruvianus and E. gibbosus are found in different regions of the Pacific Ocean; however, our molecular results do not show a clear distinction between these species, indicating recent divergence or ongoing gene flow. Overall, our phylogeny reveals that the most spatially restricted species are more recently derived, suggesting that allopatric barriers may drive speciation, but subsequent dispersal and range expansion may affect the distributions of species.

Vertical ecology of the pelagic ocean: classical patterns and new perspectives

Applications of acoustic and optical sensing and intensive, discrete-depth sampling, in concert with collaborative international research programmes, have substantially advanced knowledge of pelagic ecosystems in the 17 years since the 1996 Deepwater Fishes Symposium of the Fisheries Society of the British Isles. Although the epipelagic habitat is the best-known, and remote sensing and high-resolution modelling allow near-synoptic investigation of upper layer biophysical dynamics, ecological studies within the mesopelagic and deep-demersal habitats have begun to link lower and upper trophic level processes. Bathypelagic taxonomic inventories are far from complete, but recent projects (e.g. MAR-ECO and CMarZ, supported by the Census of Marine Life programme) have quantitatively strengthened distribution patterns previously described for fishes and have provided new perspectives. Synthesis of net and acoustic studies suggests that the biomass of deep-pelagic fishes may be two to three orders of magnitude greater than the total global commercial fisheries landings. Discrete-depth net sampling has revealed relatively high pelagic fish biomass below 1000 m in some regions, and that gelatinous zooplankton may be key energy vectors for deep-pelagic fish production. Lastly, perhaps, the most substantive paradigm shift is that vertical connectivity among fishes across classical depth zones is prevalent- suggesting that a whole-water column approach is warranted for deep ocean conservation and management.

Five in situ observations of live oarfish Regalecus glesne (Regalecidae) by remotely operated vehicles in the oceanic waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico

As part of the SERPENT Project, five observations of apparently healthy oarfish Regalecus glesne by remotely operated vehicles are reported from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Regalecus glesne were observed between 2008 and 2011 at depths from within the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones. These observations include the deepest verified record of R. glesne (463-492 m) and the first record of an arthropod ectoparasite (isopod).