It is hard not to see the evidence of the increasing amounts of plastic on the ocean. Grocery bags glide along the surface like ocean tumbleweeds. Drinking straws bury themselves upright in the sand, bending and waving ominously. Plastic pieces photodegrade into festive colored confetti fragments. We’ve all seen it, but now we’ve begun to quantify this apparent increase.

A new study published in Biological Letters seeks to do just that by examining past and present ocean samples and looking for changes over time. What the group found was startling. The researchers concluded that there has been a 100 fold increase in plastic debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just the past 40 years.

Many species are struggling to adapt to the changing ocean composition, but some are persevering. Interestingly enough, the marine insect commonly known as the sea skater is faring better than most with the increasing flood of permanent plastic. These insects, similar to water striders seen in freshwater, rely on floating flotsam as a place to lay their eggs. Previously they had to use seashells, bird feathers, and tar lumps when they came upon them. But now, with the increase in the floating plastic, there is ample habitat for their brood. With the sea skater population increasing, this will certainly provide more food for their crab predators, potentially enhancing their population as well. This is one of the first documented cases of plastics being beneficial to marine species.

However, this potential boon for sea skaters, also comes with a heavy cost for a wide variety of other ocean denizens. We are all too familiar with the consequences of sea turtles, whales, and sea birds ingesting the plastics, causing impaction and potentially death. Then there are the instances of entanglement, which has claimed the lives of many obligate air breathers. The same researchers that concluded the 100 times increase in plastic, found that 9% of the fish they collected had ingested plastic. They hypothesize that mid-depth fish in the North Pacific are ingesting plastic at a rate of 12,000 – 24,000 tons a year!

Plastics have not been part of our everyday world for very long. They only became widespread during the late 1940s/early 1950s. Despite its relatively recent debut in the consumer market, we have certainly made quick (and often wasteful) use of the product. A walk through your local supermarket will reveal isles full of plastic display, making that 100 fold increase seem very plausible. Maybe that number is even on the low side, but there is a continuous supply of plastics streaming into all of our ocean gyres to bolster the ones already out there. Plastics do not naturally biodegrade, so plastics from 2012 are joining plastics from the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and so on forming a soup of debris that will not be going away anytime soon. So please remember to reduce, reuse, and recycle – with a strong emphasis on reduce.

A recent moon jelly invasion in Florida provides further evidence that the smallest and simplest organisms can have impacts much greater than their body size. These small gelatinous animals, belonging to the phylum Cnidaria, showed their true strength when they shut down a nuclear power plant in St. Lucie County last August.

The jelly invasion spanned four days, beginning on August 22. The offshore intake pipes for the power plant began to suck up jellies in unusually high numbers. As the jellies were jetted through the pipes at over 4 mph, their tentacles began to detach. The metal screens designed to remove debris quickly became clogged with the dead and dying carcasses. This would in turn cause the pressure to build in the pumps, and prevent water necessary for cooling.

The detachment of the tentacles had unforeseen consequences for the vertebrate life located in the plant’s canal systems. The tentacles attached to the gills of fish, causing tissue swelling, and eventual death. Teams of divers tried to use a vinegar solution, but were eventually forced to leave as they became repeatedly stung by the cnidocytes, which give the phylum its name. An estimated 75 critically endangered goliath grouper are believed to have died in the event.

Jellies and other cnidarians are not new. There is fossil evidence of them as far back as 580 million years ago. Nor are they particularly complex organisms, with only two main cell layers. Regardless of all of this, their strength in numbers was able to overpower modern human technology. Pretty impressive for something with only a simple nervous system.

Scientists may have gotten a preview of the future state of coral reef ecosystems – and the view beneath the surface wasn’t a pretty one. This environmental fast forward didn’t involve time travel or lab experiments, as scientists were able to look at existing habitats off the Yucatan Peninsula, whose conditions resemble those estimated for our coastal waters at the end of this century.

While oceans continue to acidify as surface waters absorb increasing amounts of carbon dioxide, there are dangerous consequences for marine life. The lowering of pH, known as ocean acidification, makes it difficult for organisms to build structures out of calcium carbonate. This reduction in carbonate ions could spell disaster for a variety of animals, in particular most coral species.

Researchers from UC Santa Cruz conducted a series of underwater surveys in submarine springs off eastern Mexico. The springs, also known as ojos, naturally have more acidic conditions. The pH of the ojos is similar to predictions for our oceans in 2100. Dives beneath the surface revealed patchy colonies with lower coral diversity. Complex reefs with a variety of coral species were absent.

While it is promising that some coral species will be able to tolerate a more acidic oceans, it seems the complexity and diversity that makes them so dynamic may live on only in pictures.

It sounds like a childhood riddle: What has no eyes, but sees with its whole body? However, the genetics and corresponding physiology of sea urchins are far from childish. Despite the species originating 540 million years ago, these echinoderms share many genes with us humans.

The question of sea urchin vision had long puzzled researchers. There were no visible eyes, but these creatures were obviously capable of reacting to changes in light levels. Recent advances in genetics, allowed scientists to look into the urchin genome, where they noted the presence of several genes associated with retina development. Despite having no eyes, urchins have a lot of the blueprints for eye proteins and photoreceptors. Researchers then traced the presence of opsin (a protein) to the tips and bases of the urchin’s tube feet where photoreceptors allow them to react to light or dark.

And eye genome sequencing is not the only DNA that we share with these spiny marine residents. Purple urchins have 7,000 genes in common with humans – including genes associated with muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s diseases. And while sea urchins don’t develop any acquired immunity, their innate immunity is far greater than humans with up to 20 times more genes devoted to their protection.

Sea urchins are exceptionally long lived, some living up to 100 years. This incredibly healthy immunity and their comparable DNA to humans, make these echinoderms vital organisms in answering many questions about these diseases and potentially providing cures. Further evidence that life in the ocean supports and sustains us on land.

Life in the ocean can be tough – especially when you’re a shrimp. Not only are you tiny and tasty, but new research shows that competition between shrimp is often violent and brutal.

The Indo-Pacific and Red Sea host several cleaner shrimp that are known for their symbiotic relationship with fish. In return for a meal, the shrimp crawl over the fish removing dead skin and parasites. While the shrimp maintain a cordial relationship with their clients, they can be openly hostile towards members of their own species.

Cleaner shrimp usually live in monogamous pairs, but the battle to get down to 2 individuals can be quite fierce. Researchers recently tested the shrimp’s competitive nature and found that when more than 2 shrimp were in a tank, they would attack and kill until only a pair remained.

Shrimp, like most crustaceans, are at their most vulnerable right after they molt. The savvy competitor knows that this is the best time to strike the fatal blow to their opponent. It should come as no surprise then, that researchers found that when shrimp were kept in groups they would delay the molting process as long as possible. Whoever shed first was usually the first to go. However, once a harmonious pair was established, they would return to routine molting.

The most likely reason for this behavior is played out across the animal kingdom – competition for scarce resources. Food is a limiting factor in the ocean, and shrimp want to make sure that they have guaranteed access to it. This will also result in an increase in body size, and a corresponding increase in the number of eggs laid. Regardless of motivation, it is clearly a “shrimp eat shrimp” ocean out there.