Scottish Association for Marine Science, Scottish Marine Institute, Oban, Argyll PA37 1QA, Scotland, UK.
Institute of Biomedical and Environmental Health Research (IBEHR), School of Science & Sport, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley PA1 2BE, Scotland, UK.
Environ Pollut. 2017 Dec;231(Pt 1):271-280. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.08.026. Epub 2017 Aug 12.
Microplastics are widespread in the natural environment and present numerous ecological threats. While the ultimate fate of marine microplastics are not well known, it is hypothesized that the deep sea is the final sink for this anthropogenic contaminant. This study provides a quantification and characterisation of microplastic pollution ingested by benthic macroinvertebrates with different feeding modes (Ophiomusium lymani, Hymenaster pellucidus and Colus jeffreysianus) and in adjacent deep water > 2200 m, in the Rockall Trough, Northeast Atlantic Ocean. Despite the remote location, microplastic fibres were identified in deep-sea water at a concentration of 70.8 particles m, comparable to that in surface waters. Of the invertebrates examined (n = 66), 48% ingested microplastics with quantities enumerated comparable to coastal species. The number of ingested microplastics differed significantly between species and generalized linear modelling identified that the number of microplastics ingested for a given tissue mass was related to species and not organism feeding mode or the length or overall weight of the individual. Deep-sea microplastics were visually highly degraded with surface areas more than double that of pristine particles. The identification of synthetic polymers with densities greater and less than seawater along with comparable quantities to the upper ocean indicates processes of vertical re-distribution. This study presents the first snapshot of deep ocean microplastics and the quantification of microplastic pollution in the Rockall Trough. Additional sampling throughout the deep-sea is required to assess levels of microplastic pollution, vertical transportation and sequestration, which have the potential to impact the largest global ecosystem.
微塑料广泛存在于自然环境中，对生态系统构成了诸多威胁。尽管海洋微塑料的最终归宿还不太清楚，但人们推测深海是这种人为污染物的最终归宿。本研究对不同摄食方式的底栖大型无脊椎动物（Ophiomusium lymani、Hymenaster pellucidus 和 Colus jeffreysianus）以及在邻近的 >2200 米深海中吞食的微塑料污染进行了量化和特征描述，这些动物位于东北大西洋的罗卡尔海槽。尽管地理位置偏远，但在深海水中仍检测到微塑料纤维，浓度为 70.8 个颗粒/米，与海面水中的浓度相当。在所检查的无脊椎动物中（n=66），48%吞食了微塑料，其数量与沿海物种相当。不同物种之间吞食的微塑料数量存在显著差异，广义线性模型表明，在给定的组织质量下，吞食的微塑料数量与物种有关，而与动物的摄食方式或个体的长度或总重量无关。深海微塑料的外观高度降解，比原始颗粒的表面积大两倍多。与上覆海洋中数量相当的同时，识别出具有大于和小于海水密度的合成聚合物，表明存在垂直再分布过程。本研究首次展示了深海中微塑料的快照和罗卡尔海槽中微塑料污染的量化。需要在整个深海中进行更多的采样，以评估微塑料污染水平、垂直输运和封存，这些都有可能影响到全球最大的生态系统。
