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Cited by 560

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The vertical distribution and biological transport of marine microplastics across the epipelagic and mesopelagic water column

Open access
Choy, C. Anela, Robison, Bruce H., Gagne, Tyler O., Erwin, Benjamin, Firl, Evan, Halden, Rolf U., Hamilton, J. Andrew, Katija, Kakani, Lisin, Susan E., Rolsky, Charles, S. Van Houtan, Kyle·2019·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-44117-2
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Abstract

Plastic waste has been documented in nearly all types of marine environments and has been found in species spanning all levels of marine food webs. Within these marine environments, deep pelagic waters encompass the largest ecosystems on Earth. We lack a comprehensive understanding of the concentrations, cycling, and fate of plastic waste in sub-surface waters, constraining our ability to implement effective, large-scale policy and conservation strategies. We used remotely operated vehicles and engineered purpose-built samplers to collect and examine the distribution of microplastics in the Monterey Bay pelagic ecosystem at water column depths ranging from 5 to 1000 m. Laser Raman spectroscopy was used to identify microplastic particles collected from throughout the deep pelagic water column, with the highest concentrations present at depths between 200 and 600 m. Examination of two abundant particle feeders in this ecosystem, pelagic red crabs (Pleuroncodes planipes) and giant larvaceans (Bathochordaeus stygius), showed that microplastic particles readily flow from the environment into coupled water column and seafloor food webs. Our findings suggest that one of the largest and currently underappreciated reservoirs of marine microplastics may be contained within the water column and animal communities of the deep sea.

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Research works printed but not linked: 40

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Metadata

Authors
Choy, C. A., Robison, B. H., Gagne, T. O., Erwin, B., Firl, E., Halden, R. U., Hamilton, J. A., Katija, K., Lisin, S. E., Rolsky, C., & S. Van Houtan, K.
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2019-06-06
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
7843-7843
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41598-019-44117-2
OpenAlex
W2948539118
Cited by
560
References
10
FWCI
19.97
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
correction (2020-01-14)
Open access
gold
Licence
Funders
David and Lucile Packard Foundation

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The vertical distribution and biological transport of marine microplastics across the epipelagic and mesopelagic water column. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1038/s41598-019-44117-2
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Choy, C. A., Robison, B. H., Gagne, T. O., Erwin, B., Firl, E., Halden, R. U., Hamilton, J. A., Katija, K., Lisin, S. E., Rolsky, C., & S. Van Houtan, K. (2019). The vertical distribution and biological transport of marine microplastics across the epipelagic and mesopelagic water column. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44117-2

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