Cargando…
From the surface to the seafloor: How giant larvaceans transport microplastics into the deep sea
Plastic waste is a pervasive feature of marine environments, yet little is empirically known about the biological and physical processes that transport plastics through marine ecosystems. To address this need, we conducted in situ feeding studies of microplastic particles (10 to 600 μm in diameter)...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
American Association for the Advancement of Science
2017
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5559207/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28835922 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700715 |
_version_ | 1783257495664328704 |
---|---|
author | Katija, Kakani Choy, C. Anela Sherlock, Rob E. Sherman, Alana D. Robison, Bruce H. |
author_facet | Katija, Kakani Choy, C. Anela Sherlock, Rob E. Sherman, Alana D. Robison, Bruce H. |
author_sort | Katija, Kakani |
collection | PubMed |
description | Plastic waste is a pervasive feature of marine environments, yet little is empirically known about the biological and physical processes that transport plastics through marine ecosystems. To address this need, we conducted in situ feeding studies of microplastic particles (10 to 600 μm in diameter) with the giant larvacean Bathochordaeus stygius. Larvaceans are abundant components of global zooplankton assemblages, regularly build mucus “houses” to filter particulate matter from the surrounding water, and later abandon these structures when clogged. By conducting in situ feeding experiments with remotely operated vehicles, we show that giant larvaceans are able to filter a range of microplastic particles from the water column, ingest, and then package microplastics into their fecal pellets. Microplastics also readily affix to their houses, which have been shown to sink quickly to the seafloor and deliver pulses of carbon to benthic ecosystems. Thus, giant larvaceans can contribute to the vertical flux of microplastics through the rapid sinking of fecal pellets and discarded houses. Larvaceans, and potentially other abundant pelagic filter feeders, may thus comprise a novel biological transport mechanism delivering microplastics from surface waters, through the water column, and to the seafloor. Our findings necessitate the development of tools and sampling methodologies to quantify concentrations and identify environmental microplastics throughout the water column. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-5559207 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2017 |
publisher | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-55592072017-08-23 From the surface to the seafloor: How giant larvaceans transport microplastics into the deep sea Katija, Kakani Choy, C. Anela Sherlock, Rob E. Sherman, Alana D. Robison, Bruce H. Sci Adv Research Articles Plastic waste is a pervasive feature of marine environments, yet little is empirically known about the biological and physical processes that transport plastics through marine ecosystems. To address this need, we conducted in situ feeding studies of microplastic particles (10 to 600 μm in diameter) with the giant larvacean Bathochordaeus stygius. Larvaceans are abundant components of global zooplankton assemblages, regularly build mucus “houses” to filter particulate matter from the surrounding water, and later abandon these structures when clogged. By conducting in situ feeding experiments with remotely operated vehicles, we show that giant larvaceans are able to filter a range of microplastic particles from the water column, ingest, and then package microplastics into their fecal pellets. Microplastics also readily affix to their houses, which have been shown to sink quickly to the seafloor and deliver pulses of carbon to benthic ecosystems. Thus, giant larvaceans can contribute to the vertical flux of microplastics through the rapid sinking of fecal pellets and discarded houses. Larvaceans, and potentially other abundant pelagic filter feeders, may thus comprise a novel biological transport mechanism delivering microplastics from surface waters, through the water column, and to the seafloor. Our findings necessitate the development of tools and sampling methodologies to quantify concentrations and identify environmental microplastics throughout the water column. American Association for the Advancement of Science 2017-08-16 /pmc/articles/PMC5559207/ /pubmed/28835922 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700715 Text en Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) , which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, so long as the resultant use is not for commercial advantage and provided the original work is properly cited. |
spellingShingle | Research Articles Katija, Kakani Choy, C. Anela Sherlock, Rob E. Sherman, Alana D. Robison, Bruce H. From the surface to the seafloor: How giant larvaceans transport microplastics into the deep sea |
title | From the surface to the seafloor: How giant larvaceans transport microplastics into the deep sea |
title_full | From the surface to the seafloor: How giant larvaceans transport microplastics into the deep sea |
title_fullStr | From the surface to the seafloor: How giant larvaceans transport microplastics into the deep sea |
title_full_unstemmed | From the surface to the seafloor: How giant larvaceans transport microplastics into the deep sea |
title_short | From the surface to the seafloor: How giant larvaceans transport microplastics into the deep sea |
title_sort | from the surface to the seafloor: how giant larvaceans transport microplastics into the deep sea |
topic | Research Articles |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5559207/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28835922 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700715 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT katijakakani fromthesurfacetotheseafloorhowgiantlarvaceanstransportmicroplasticsintothedeepsea AT choycanela fromthesurfacetotheseafloorhowgiantlarvaceanstransportmicroplasticsintothedeepsea AT sherlockrobe fromthesurfacetotheseafloorhowgiantlarvaceanstransportmicroplasticsintothedeepsea AT shermanalanad fromthesurfacetotheseafloorhowgiantlarvaceanstransportmicroplasticsintothedeepsea AT robisonbruceh fromthesurfacetotheseafloorhowgiantlarvaceanstransportmicroplasticsintothedeepsea |