Floating life (obligate neuston) is a core component of the ocean surface food web. However, only one region of high neustonic abundance is known so far – the Sargasso Sea in the Subtropical North Atlantic gyre, where floating life provides critical habitat structure and ecosystem services. Chong et al. hypothesize that floating life is also concentrated in other gyres with converging surface currents. To test this hypothesis, they collected samples through the eastern North Pacific Subtropical Gyre in the area of the North Pacific "Garbage Patch" (NPGP) known to accumulate floating anthropogenic debris. They found that densities of floating life were higher inside the central NPGP than on its periphery and that there was a positive relationship between neuston abundance and plastic abundance for three out of five neuston taxa; Velella, Porpita and Janthina. This work has implications for the ecology of subtropical oceanic gyre ecosystems. The image shows, clockwise from top left, by-the-wind sailor (Velella sp.), blue button (Porpita sp.), Portuguese man-o-war (Physalia sp.), blue sea dragon (Glaucus sp.) and violet snail (Janthina sp.).

Image Credit: Chong et al.