The inner mucus filter of a giant larvacean, a member of the genus Bathochordaeus© 2017 MBARIPlastic pollution has emerged as a real threat to Earth’s ecosystems, especially in the ocean. But microscopic bits of plastic that swirl near the surface may have a route to deeper layers. Giant larvaceans, members of the marine zooplankton that swim in the upper layers of ocean waters worldwide, may be capable of ingesting microplastic pollution and transporting it to deeper parts of the sea, according to researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).
“We’re really at the tip of the iceberg in understanding really where these plastics are winding up,” study coauthor and MBARI researcher Kakani Katija tells The Verge.
Katija and her colleagues performed experiments in which they fed plastic particles smaller than sand grains to the giant larvacean Bathochordaeus stygius, a frequent visitor of Monterey Bay. B. stygius, like other giant larvaceans, constructs massive nests made of mucus, which they use to filter about 11 gallons of sea water per hour. When the MBARI team members fed fluorescent microplastic bits to 25 larvaceans, they found that the majority of the planktonic organisms ingested the particles and pooped them out within 12 hours. They published their findings yesterday (August 16) in Science Advances.
When giant larvaceans excrete ...
