DOCSLIB.ORG

UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Abundance and ecological implications of microplastic debris in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6xf4w8b6 Author Goldstein, Miriam Chanita Publication Date 2012 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Abundance and ecological implications of microplastic debris in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography by Miriam Chanita Goldstein Committee in charge: Professor Mark D. Ohman, Chair Professor Lihini I. Aluwihare Professor Brian Goldfarb Professor Michael R. Landry Professor James J. Leichter 2012 Copyright Miriam Chanita Goldstein, 2012 All rights reserved. SIGNATURE PAGE The Dissertation of Miriam Chanita Goldstein is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: PAGE _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Chair University of California, San Diego 2012 iii DEDICATION For my mother, who took me to the tidepools and didn’t mind my pet earthworms. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS SIGNATURE PAGE ................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... xiii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... xiv VITA ............................................................................................................................ xx ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION ................................................................ xxi CHAPTER 1: Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 A Brief History of Plastic ........................................................................................... 1 Plastic types ................................................................................................................ 3 Plastic Appears in the Ocean ...................................................................................... 4 Ecological consequences of large plastic debris ........................................................ 9 Microplastic marine debris: knowns and unknowns ................................................ 11 Plastic-associated fouling communities ................................................................... 16 The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre ......................................................................... 19 The “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” .......................................................................... 23 v Research questions: potential impacts of microplastic on NPSG neuston ............... 24 Descriptions of chapters ........................................................................................... 24 References ................................................................................................................ 31 CHAPTER 2: Scales of spatial heterogeneity of plastic marine debris in the northeast Pacific Ocean ............................................................................................. 45 Abstract ..................................................................................................................... 45 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 46 Materials and Methods ............................................................................................. 49 Net samples ........................................................................................................... 49 Visual observations .............................................................................................. 51 Submesoscale sampling schemata ........................................................................ 51 Oceanographic context ......................................................................................... 52 Variograms ........................................................................................................... 54 Analysis ................................................................................................................. 55 Results ...................................................................................................................... 56 Interannual abundance and distribution of neustonic plastic .............................. 56 Spatial scales of plastic variation ......................................................................... 58 Abundance and distribution of plastic in summer 2009 ....................................... 58 Discussion ................................................................................................................. 61 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................... 68 References ................................................................................................................ 86 CHAPTER 3: Composition and weathering of oceanic microplastic .................... 95 vi Abstract ..................................................................................................................... 95 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 96 Methods .................................................................................................................... 98 Oceanic particles .................................................................................................. 98 Weathering experiment ......................................................................................... 99 Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and weathering indices .................. 101 Results .................................................................................................................... 102 Oceanic plastic type ........................................................................................... 102 Weathering experiment ....................................................................................... 103 Discussion ............................................................................................................... 104 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ 111 References .............................................................................................................. 118 Appendix ................................................................................................................ 125 CHAPTER 4: Ingestion of microplastic by neustonic marine invertebrates ...... 135 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 135 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 135 Methods .................................................................................................................. 137 Zooplankton incubation experiments ................................................................. 137 Ingestion by barnacles ........................................................................................ 138 Results .................................................................................................................... 139 Zooplankton incubation experiments ................................................................. 139 Ingestion by barnacles ........................................................................................ 140 Discussion ............................................................................................................... 141 vii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ 145 References .............................................................................................................. 149 CHAPTER 5: Increased oceanic microplastic debris enhances oviposition in an endemic pelagic insect .............................................................................................. 155 CHAPTER 6: Relationship of diversity and habitat area in North Pacific plastic- associated rafting communities ............................................................................... 167 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 167 Introduction ...........................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Biological Oceanography - Legendre, Louis and Rassoulzadegan, Fereidoun
    OCEANOGRAPHY – Vol.II - Biological Oceanography - Legendre, Louis and Rassoulzadegan, Fereidoun BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Legendre, Louis and Rassoulzadegan, Fereidoun Laboratoire d'Océanographie de Villefranche, France. Keywords: Algae, allochthonous nutrient, aphotic zone, autochthonous nutrient, Auxotrophs, bacteria, bacterioplankton, benthos, carbon dioxide, carnivory, chelator, chemoautotrophs, ciliates, coastal eutrophication, coccolithophores, convection, crustaceans, cyanobacteria, detritus, diatoms, dinoflagellates, disphotic zone, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved organic matter (DOM), ecosystem, eukaryotes, euphotic zone, eutrophic, excretion, exoenzymes, exudation, fecal pellet, femtoplankton, fish, fish lavae, flagellates, food web, foraminifers, fungi, harmful algal blooms (HABs), herbivorous food web, herbivory, heterotrophs, holoplankton, ichthyoplankton, irradiance, labile, large planktonic microphages, lysis, macroplankton, marine snow, megaplankton, meroplankton, mesoplankton, metazoan, metazooplankton, microbial food web, microbial loop, microheterotrophs, microplankton, mixotrophs, mollusks, multivorous food web, mutualism, mycoplankton, nanoplankton, nekton, net community production (NCP), neuston, new production, nutrient limitation, nutrient (macro-, micro-, inorganic, organic), oligotrophic, omnivory, osmotrophs, particulate organic carbon (POC), particulate organic matter (POM), pelagic, phagocytosis, phagotrophs, photoautotorphs, photosynthesis, phytoplankton, phytoplankton bloom, picoplankton, plankton,
    [Show full text]
  • Translation Series No.1839
    FISHERIES RESEARCH BOARD OF CANADA Translation Series No 1839 Marine neustbnology by Yu. P. Zaitsev Original title: - Morskaya Neistonologiya From: Marine Neustonology, Academy of Sciences of the . Ukrainian SSR, Kiev, : 5-262 '1970 Translated by the Translation Bureau(P. • Foreign Languages Division Department of the Secretary of State of Canada Fisheries Research Board of Canada Marine Ecology Laboratory Dartmouth, N. S. 1971_ 401 pages typescript , yu, ID. Zaltriev: arine -NoustonoIoGy, '.aukova duka",10v,.19 ri 2i Introduction ....... 1.44 •ed ' y .... .... »,. • Part .one. Peculiarity of ecoloi3ical conditions of th fflost u,pper reGion of the seas and oceans . ...... ;11 Qhapter I. Illumination, temperature and salinity of water..11 Chapter II. NonlivinG oranic matter 17• Chapter rh e Mololcal activity of sea. foam . • . • chapter IV. Enviroament biotic factors .55 ' Chapter V. co1oica1 peculiarity of "the near-surface sca 1 biotope as the cause of delopin speciai biolQe;ical . structure in it • • e• * 4 4, léte•e. •44 , •....42 Part two. :2éthods of neustonolo&ical research • • • . • Chapter VI. npDssibility of usin existin plFÂnton nct models for neustonoloical purooses . .4*;- Chaoter ome principals upon which the workinG out of .,' the method. of col ec 1rç ond studyin e:; sea neuston cre-bas .47 Direction of haulin and the up,it of_quantittiyo - Calculation , A A C C a 3 C AA•CAAC A A * ('s 47 Optimal se.:)ced of haulins by iaeans of a net . 143 I'animusa disturbance in the natural ;.ater stratification': 'and quantity of population in the net haulinÉ, sono . .51 • . Some technical properties of nets considered While • •roducini; gears for haulin hyponeuston .....
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 15 Marrone
    Chapter 15 Life Near the Surface Pelagic Zone • Pelagic Zone – The vast open sea – Contains almost all of the liquid water on earth Pelagic Zone • Pelagic zone benefits – Regulates our climate – Provides food. • Pelagic organisms live suspended in the water • Lacks the solid substrate provided by the bottom • No place for attachment, no bottom for burrowing, nothing to hide behind Epipelagic Zone • Epipelagic – Upper pelagic – Zone from the surface down to a given depth commonly 200 m (650 ft) – Warmest – Best lit • The photic zone - area where photosynthesis can occur Epipelagic Zone • The epipelagic zone has two main components • Coastal or Nertic – epipelagic waters that lie over the continental shelf – Lies close to shore – Supports most of the world’s marine fisheries production • Oceanic part – Waters beyond the continental shelf The Organisms of the Epipelagic The Epipelagic Zone • Fueled by solar energy captured in photosynthesis • Nearly all primary production takes place within the epiplagic zone. • Supplies food to other communities The Epipelagic Zone • Lacks deposit feeders • Suspension feeders are very common • There are also many large predators like fishes, squids and marine mammals • Plankton is abundant Plankton Plankton • Plankton - live in the water column and cannot swim against the current. • Phytoplankton are autotrophs. – Perform photosynthesis • Zooplankton – are heterotrophs • Plankton can be grouped based on their size – Picoplankton – smallest – Nanoplankton – Microplankton – Mesoplankton – Macroplankton –
    [Show full text]
  • Glossary Animal Physiology
    Limnology 1 Weisse - WS99/00 Glossary Limnology 1 Biological Zonation of a lentic System: Most organisms can be classified on the basis of their typical habitat. Benthos: The community of plants and animals that live permanently in or on the sea bottom. Littoral (intertidal zone): The trophogenic zone along the shore till the compensation depth where NPP occurs. It is rich in species diversity and number - especially algae and higher plants. • Epilittoral: Sedentary organisms of the shoreline; e.g. macrophytes, diatoms, etc. • Profundal: Depths of 180m and deeper. Limnion: Temperature related zonation of the open water body of lentic systems; i.e. summer stratification due to solar radiation produces several trophic zones - see also ecological aspects - depth zones. • Epilimnion: The upper warm and illuminated surface layer of a lake; narrower than the trophogenic zone. • Metalimnion: The transitional zone between epi- and hypolimnion; i.e. the zone of the thermocline. • Hypolimnion: The cool and poorly illuminated bottom layer of a lake, below the thermocline. Nekton: Pelagic animals that are active swimmers; i.e. most of the adult fishes. Pelagial: The environment of the open water of a lake, away from the bottom, and not in close proximity to the shoreline. It is Lower in species number and diversity than the benthos. The pelagial of rivers exhibits a directed and continuos flux (spatial relocation = amountH2O/cross-surface area). Plankton: Passively drifting or weakly swimming organisms in fresh waters; i.e. microscopic plants, eggs, larval stages of the nekton and benthos (such as phyto-plankton, zoo-plankton). • Neuston: The epipelagic zone few centimeters below the waterline; i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • The Neustonic Fauna in Coastal Waters of the Northeast Pacific:Abundance, Distribution, and Utilization by Juvenile Salmonicis
    The Neustonic Fauna in Coastal Waters of theNortheast Pacific:Abundance, Distribution, and Utilization by Juvenile Salmonids Richard D. Brodeur Bruce C. Mundy William G. Pearcy Robert W. Wisseman The Neustonic Fauna in Coastal Waters of the Northeast Pacific:Abundance, Distribution, and Utilization by Juvenile Salmonicis Richard D. Brodeur William G. Pearcy Bruce C. Mundy Robert W. Wisseman Oregon State University Sea Grant College Program AdS 402 Corvallis, Oregon 97331 Publication No. ORESU-T-87-001 © 1987 by Oregon State University.All rights reserved. AUTHORS Richard 0. Brodeur, senior research assistant, and William G. Pearcy, professor, are with the College of Oceanography at Oregon State University. Bruce C. Mundy works as a fishery biologist at the Honolulu laboratory of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Robert W. Wisseman is a research assistant in the Department of Entomology at Oregon State University. SUPPORT This publication is the result, in part, of research sponsored by Oregon Sea Grant through NOAA Office of Sea Grant, Department of Commerce, under Grant No. NA79AA-D-OO1O (Project No. RICE-jo). The U.S. Government is authorized to produce and distribute reprints for governmental purposes, notwithstanding any copyright notation that may appear hereon. The Oregon State University Sea Grant College Program is supported cooperatively by the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration, U.S. Department of Commerce, by the state of Oregon, and by participating localgovernments and private industry. ORDERING PUBLICATIONS Copies of this publication are available from Sea Grant Communications Oregon State University AdS MO? Corvallis, OR 97331 Please include author, title, and publication number. Upon request, we will also send a free copy of our catalogue of Oregon State University marine-related puhi ications.
    [Show full text]
  • UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Abundance and Ecological
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Abundance and ecological implications of microplastic debris in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography by Miriam Chanita Goldstein Committee in charge: Professor Mark D. Ohman, Chair Professor Lihini I. Aluwihare Professor Brian Goldfarb Professor Michael R. Landry Professor James J. Leichter 2012 Copyright Miriam Chanita Goldstein, 2012 All rights reserved. SIGNATURE PAGE The Dissertation of Miriam Chanita Goldstein is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: PAGE _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Chair University of California, San Diego 2012 iii DEDICATION For my mother, who took me to the tidepools and didn’t mind my pet earthworms. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS SIGNATURE PAGE ................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES
    [Show full text]
  • Life-Forms of Phytoplankton As Survival Alternatives in an Unstable
    ______________________________________o_c_EA_N_O __ LO_G __ IC_A_A_C_T_A __ 19_7_8_-_v_o_L_._1_-_N_ 0_4~~~---- Life-forms Phytoplankton Life-forms Turbulence Diatoms Dinoftagellates Types biologiques of phytoplankton Phytoplancton Turbulence Diatomées as survival alternatives Dinoftagellés in an unstable environment Ramon Margalef Departamento de Ecologia, Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, 7, Spain. Received 4/4/78, in revised form 20/5/78, accepted 28/5/78. The different life-forms observed in phytoplankton are functionally interpreted as adap­ ABSTRACT tations to survival in an unstable and turbulent environment. In comparison with terres­ trial and benthic plants, the primary producers in phytoplankton are small, of rapid turnover and expendable; this is the result of evolution under conditions of automatic and passive exploitation, where grazing may be only secondary. Any atom is more likely to travel downwards when in a particle than in solution, and the most likely final situation in a completely stagnant environment would be one of segregation between light (on top) and nutrients (in depth). Stability and local diversification on different scales may be interpreted in the same manner. The combination of sedimentation with turbulence or variance in the components of velocity is believed to be the most important factor in the biology of phytoplankton. Consequent! y, the best predictor of primary production and of dominant life-forms in phytoplankton is the available externat energy, on which advection and turbulence depend. This factor overrules more detailed models using light and nutrients as most relevant parameters, and based on laboratory experiments. Energy controls transportation, although the motility of organisms also contributes to the vertical organization of the ecosystem.
    [Show full text]
  • Halobates</I> in the Banda Sea (Indonesia
    UC San Diego Other Scholarly Work Title HALOBATES in the Banda Sea (Indonesia): Monsoonal Differences in Abundance and Species Composition Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5qr502t8 Journal Bulletin of Marine Science, 47(2) Authors Cheng, Lanna Baars, Martien A. Oosterhuis, Swier S. Publication Date 1990 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California BULLETINOF MARINESCIENCE,47(2): 421-430,1990 HALOBATES IN THE BANDA SEA (INDONESIA): MONSOONAL DIFFERENCES IN ABUNDANCE AND SPECIES COMPOSITION Lanna Cheng, Martien A. Baars AND Swier S. Oosterhuis ABSTRACT The sea-skater Halobates was collected in eastern Indonesian waters during the SNELLIUS II Expedition in August 1984 (SE monsoon) and February/March 1985 (NW monsoon). About 200 specimens were caught in 18 tows at offshore sites in August, in the upwelling season, but more than 1,000 in 18 tows in February, when the mixed layer was nutrient- depleted and chlorophyll-poor. The Indo-Pacific species H. germanus predominated in the catches during both cruises, its density being inversely related to surface chlorophyll con- centration. Reproductive activity of H. germanus was highest in oligotrophic conditions, the relative abundances of nymphs and of cast skins being much higher in February than in August. Shifts in the population structure in February suggested a development time of about 7 days or less per stadium at a surface seawater temperature of 29°C. The cosmopolitan H. micans and the coastal H. j/aviventris and H. princeps were absent or rare in August but present in most catches in February; some specimens of the latter two species were found at stations more than 150 km from the nearest shore.
    [Show full text]
  • An INIRO DUCTION
    Introduction to the Black Sea Ecology Item Type Book/Monograph/Conference Proceedings Authors Zaitsev, Yuvenaly Publisher Smil Edition and Publishing Agency ltd Download date 23/09/2021 11:08:56 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/1834/12945 Yuvenaiy ZAITSEV шшшшшшишшвивявшиншшшаттшшшштшшщ an INIRO DUCTION TO THE BLACK SEA ECOLOGY Production and publication of this book was supported by the UNDF-GEF Black Sea Ecosystem Recovery Project (BSERP) Istanbul, TURKEY an INTRO Yuvenaly ZAITSEV TO THE BLACK SEA ECOLOGY Smil Editing and Publishing Agency ltd Odessa 2008 УДК 504.42(262.5) 3177 ББК 26.221.8 (922.8) Yuvenaly Zaitsev. An Introduction to the Black Sea Ecology. Odessa: Smil Edition and Publishing Agency ltd. 2008. — 228 p. Translation from Russian by M. Gelmboldt. ISBN 978-966-8127-83-0 The Black Sea is an inland sea surrounded by land except for the narrow Strait of Bosporus connecting it to the Mediterranean. The huge catchment area of the Black Sea receives annually about 400 ктУ of fresh water from large European and Asian rivers (e.g. Danube, Dnieper, Yeshil Irmak). This, combined with the shallowness of Bosporus makes the Black Sea to a considerable degree a stagnant marine water body wherein the dissolved oxygen disappears at a depth of about 200 m while hydrogen sulphide is present at all greater depths. Since the 1970s, the Black Sea has been seriously damaged as a result of pollution and other man-made factors and was studied by dif­ ferent specialists. There are, of course, many excellent works dealing with individual aspects of the Black Sea biology and ecology.
    [Show full text]
  • Glossary Animal Physiology
    Marine Bio 1 Glossary Marine Biology 1 Bioluminescence: Also called phosphorescence; production of light without sensible heat by living organisms as a result of a chemical reaction either within certain cells or organs or outside the cells in some form of secretion. ATP-driven luciferin-luciferase metabolism generates light; in marine organisms either caused by mucus segregation containing bioluminescent bacteria or by chemical reaction in specially adapted tissue – usually spread all over the organisms body. Many organisms (carnivorous) use their bioluminescent activity to attract potential prey; their highly developed eyes can detect flashbacks of a distance as far as 200m away. Camouflage: Body shapes, colors, or patterns that enable an organism to blend in with its environment and remain concealed from danger. • Color Adaptation: Benthic organisms can acquire the color pattern of the surrounding seafloor (e.g. flounder). • Scales: Silvery guanine scales redirect incident light, making pelagic organisms almost invisible. Continental Shelf: Zone adjacent to a continent or around an island, usually extending from the low-water line to the depth at which the slope increases markedly. Atlantic C.S.: A slightly, but steadily falling slope. Pacific C.S.: A sharp and steep drop within a few kilometers off shore. Conveyor Belt System (CBS): The present flow of ocean water within and between ocean circulating at both the surface and at depth. Cold surface water sinks to the sea floor in the North Atlantic, then flows south to be further cooled by the Antarctic bottom water formed in the Weddel Sea (40°W 65°S). This deep water moves eastward around Antarctica, feeding into the surface layer of the Indian Ocean and also into the deep basins of the Pacific.
    [Show full text]
  • Role of Biological Disturbance in Maintaining Diversity in the Deep Sea
    Deep--SeaResearch, 1972, Vol. 19, pp. 199 to 208. PergamonPress. Printed in Great Britain. Role of biological disturbance in maintaining diversity in the deep sea P. K. DAYTON and R. R. HESSLER* t (Received 12 April 1971; in revisedform 7 August 1971; accepted 17 August 1971) Abstract--This paper presents the hypothesis that the maintenance of high species diversity in the deep sea is more a result of continued biological disturbance than of highly specialized competitive niche diversification. Detrital food is the primary resource for most of the deep-sea species, but we suggest that in deposit feeding, most animals would consume available living particles as well as dead. We call this dominant life-style 'cropping '. Predictable cropping pressure on smaller animals reduces the probability of their competitive exclusion and allows a high overlap in the utilization of food resources. Since cropping pressure is in part proportional to the abundance of the prey, pro- liferations of individual species are unlikely. Through time many species have accumulated in the deep sea because of speciation and immi- gration. Extinction rate is low because the biological and physical predictability of the environment has suppressed the possibility of population oscillations. Predictability in food supply for smaller deposit feeders is enhanced by the larger, mobile scavengers which consume and disperse large particles of food which fall to the ocean floor. INTRODUCTION THE DEEP sea has long been regarded as one of the most rigorous environments on the planet. The combination of low temperatures, high pressure, absence of light, and low rate of food supply influenced the conclusion that this is not a likely place to find a rich fauna.
    [Show full text]
  • Biological Properties of Freshwater Bodies – T.I
    TYPES AND PROPERTIES OF WATER – Vol. II - Biological Properties of Freshwater Bodies – T.I. Moiseenko BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF FRESHWATER BODIES T.I. Moiseenko Water Problems Institute RAS, Russia Keywords: water ecosystems, phytoplankton, macrophytes, zooplankton, zoobenthos, fish, bioproduction, biodiversity. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Main features of biological structure of fresh waters 2.1. Lakes 2.2. Streams and rivers 2.2.1. Upper reaches of rivers (streams) 2.2.2. Trout zone 2.2.3. Carp zone 2.2.4. Lower reaches of river 2.3. Wetlands 3. Biological productivity 4. Biodiversity 5. Biological self-purification of water bodies 6. Biogeochemical properties 7. Structural and functional peculiarities of freshwater Ecosystems 8. Consequences of anthropogenic impacts 9. Biological properties of freshwater bodies for life-support systems Glossary Bibliography Biographical Sketch Summary Animals and plants inhabiting rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands create the biological properties of fresh waters. The moving freshwater biotope enables the survival and reproduction of life forms capable of living in a suspended state and others attached to the bottom.UNESCO Aquatic communities are represented– EOLSS by phyto- and zooplankton, benthos (bottom organisms) and nekton (fishes). Primary production is produced by autotrophs (phytoplankton and macrophytes). Secondary production is the result of transformation of organic matterSAMPLE by heterotrophs (zooplankt CHAPTERSon, zoobenthos and fishes). Freshwater ecosystems are negatively effected by human activity that leads to eutrophication, acidification, and pollution, by toxic and radioactive materials. We know the following biological properties of waters that provide life to different organisms: the ability to support ecosystems created by natural evolution, as well as their biodiversity; self-renewable production of organic matter including fish; self- purification of wastes; maintenance of global turnover of matter in biogeochemical cycles in the biosphere.
    [Show full text]