Ocean Travelers
The Ocean Travelers project is a citizen science initiative promoted by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the Chilean NGO Científicos la Basura. It represents a collective effort of multiple institutions, valuing international collaboration and the involvement of a broad community of stakeholders.
The project’s objective is to identify organisms (epibionts) that travel across the ocean on floating objects, such as logs, wooden planks, pumice stones, seeds, and more recently, plastic and other human-made materials. Unlike natural materials, these new artificial habitats persist on the ocean’s surface for long periods, allowing epibionts to travel great distances, reaching new continents and remote areas where they may become invasive species. The goal is to identify these organisms, their origins, and their abundance, in order to protect local marine communities.
OCEAN TRAVELERS
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HOW MUCH LITTER REACHES US FROM OTHER PLACES?
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WHAT ORGANISMS ARE TRANSPORTED BY MARINE LITTER? AND HOW MANY?
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3. HOW DOES THE QUANTITY OF MARINE LITTER AND EPIBIONTS VARY ON BEACHES WORLDWIDE?
Want to participate in international sampling campaigns?
Coordination and sample collection on beaches in Portugal and Portuguese-speaking countries will be carried out by volunteers. Friends, family, and students can all participate. Each volunteer group coordinator should register and will be responsible for selecting the sampling site, organizing the volunteer team, and submitting the data. If you wish to participate individually, you can also sign up. It’s essential to pay special attention to the campaign preparation guide and watch the videos that explain how to collect samples for inclusion in this study.
NOTE: At the moment, there are no active campaigns.
Metodologia
BEACH SAMPLING
METHODOLOGY
DETAILED PREPARATION GUIDE FOR SAMPLING (IN PORTUGUESE)
DOWNLOADDOWNLOAD SAMPLING PROCEDURES GUIDE
DOWNLOAD (IN PORTUGUESE)