Travelling light: Fouling biota on macroplastics arriving on beaches of remote Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre

摘要

Marine anthropogenic debris was sampled from two beaches on the remote South Pacific island Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Abundance, composition, and the attached fouling assemblages on stranded litter were analysed. Most litter (n = 172 items found) was composed of plastic material, and 34% of all litter items were fouled. The main fouling species was the encrusting bryozoanJellyella eburnea. Transporting vectors were exclusively made from plastics and were mainly small items and fragments, probably stemming from the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre. We present the first report ofPlanes major,Halobates sericeus, andPocilloporasp. on anthropogenic litter in the South Pacific.