Hundreds of Japanese sea critters surfed the Pacific on plastic debris after the 2011 tsunami

[Marine sciences professor James T.] Carlton called it remarkable that such a wide range of species — which also included barnacles, worms, and tiny filter-feeders called bryozoans — could survive the journey across the northern Pacific. In many cases, these passages took years, longer than the life spans of the individual organisms. The authors [of the study] concluded that not only did these creatures adapt to an open ocean where food was scarcer than in rich coastal waters, they were also able to reproduce, in some cases for at least three generations, before reaching the North American coast."We found that hundreds of species could survive for multiple generations at sea," said Dr. Carlton, who is a former director of William's Maritime Studies Program in Mystic Seaport, Connecticut. "They could do this so long as their rafts did not dissolve or sink." [The New York Times]