Data from: Tsunami-driven rafting: transoceanic species dispersal and implications for marine biogeography

The 2011 East Japan earthquake generated a massive tsunami that launched an extraordinary transoceanic biological rafting event with no known historical precedent. We document 289 living Japanese coastal marine species from 16 phyla transported over 6 years on objects that traveled thousands of kilometers across the Pacific Ocean to the shores of North America and Hawai‘i. Most of this dispersal occurred on nonbiodegradable objects, resulting in the longest documented transoceanic survival and dispersal of coastal species by rafting. Expanding shoreline infrastructure has increased global sources of plastic materials available for biotic colonization and also interacts with climate change–induced storms of increasing severity to eject debris into the oceans. In turn, increased ocean rafting may intensify species invasions.

2011年东日本大地震引发巨型海啸，催生了一场尚无已知历史先例的跨洋生物筏运事件。本研究记录了隶属于16个生物门的289种现存日本沿海海洋物种——这些物种经由横跨数千公里太平洋的漂浮物体，历时6年抵达北美与夏威夷沿岸。此次物种扩散大多依托不可降解物体完成，缔造了有记录以来沿海物种通过筏运实现跨洋存活与扩散的最长时长纪录。沿海岸线基础设施的扩张，增加了全球范围内可供生物定植的塑料材料来源；同时该扩张与气候变化引发的强度不断升级的风暴相互作用，将各类残骸冲入海洋。反之，海洋筏运事件的增多可能加剧物种入侵风险。