Scottish Association for Marine Science, Scottish Marine Institute, Oban, Argyll, PA37 1QA, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Institute of Biomedical and Environmental Health Research (IBEHR), School of Science & Sport, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, PA1 2BE, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Environ Pollut. 2019 Jan;244:503-512. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.10.090. Epub 2018 Oct 22.
Although evidence suggests the ubiquity of microplastics in the marine environment, our knowledge of its occurrence within remote habitats, such as the deep sea, is scarce. Furthermore, long term investigations of microplastic abundances are even more limited. Here we present a long-term study of the ingestion of microplastics by two deep-sea benthic invertebrates (Ophiomusium lymani and Hymenaster pellucidus) sampled over four decades. Specimens were collected between the years 1976-2015 from a repeat monitoring site >2000 m deep in the Rockall Trough, North East Atlantic. Microplastics were identified at a relatively consistent level throughout and therefore may have been present at this locality prior to 1976. Considering the mass production of plastics began in the 1940s - 50s our data suggest the relatively rapid occurrence of microplastics within the deep sea. Of the individuals examined (n = 153), 45% had ingested microplastics, of which fibres were most prevalent (95%). A total of eight different polymer types were isolated; polyamide and polyester were found in the highest concentrations and in the majority of years, while low-density polystyrene was only identified in 2015. This study provides an assessment of the historic occurrence of microplastics on the deep seafloor and presents a detailed quantification and characterisation of microplastics ingested by benthic species. Furthermore these data advance our knowledge on the long-term fate of microplastic in marine systems.
虽然有证据表明微塑料在海洋环境中普遍存在，但我们对其在深海等偏远栖息地的存在情况知之甚少。此外，对微塑料丰度的长期调查甚至更为有限。在这里，我们介绍了一项对两种深海底栖无脊椎动物（Ophiomusium lymani 和 Hymenaster pellucidus）摄入微塑料情况进行的长期研究，这些无脊椎动物的样本是在过去四十年间采集的。标本于 1976 年至 2015 年间在东北大西洋罗卡尔海槽（Rockall Trough）一个 2000 米以上的重复监测点采集。在整个研究过程中，微塑料的数量相对稳定，因此可能在 1976 年之前就已经存在于该地点。考虑到塑料的大规模生产始于 20 世纪 40 年代至 50 年代，我们的数据表明微塑料在深海中相对迅速地出现。在所检查的个体中（n=153），有 45%的个体摄入了微塑料，其中纤维最为常见（95%）。共分离出八种不同的聚合物类型；聚酰胺和聚酯的浓度最高，且在大多数年份都有发现，而低密度聚苯乙烯仅在 2015 年被识别出。本研究评估了深海海底微塑料的历史存在情况，并对底栖物种摄入的微塑料进行了详细的量化和特征描述。此外，这些数据还增进了我们对海洋系统中微塑料长期命运的认识。
