Meeting Abstract
Plastic pollution is pervasive in marine environments. While much attention has been given to the effects of macroplastics on a variety of marine organisms (i.e. ingestion and entanglement of large plastic debris by charismatic megafauna), the effects of microplastics in the marine environment are also of major concern and less thoroughly investigated. Given that organisms have been shown to consume microplastics across trophic levels, there is the potential for bioaccumulation of these particles. Zooplankton is a critically important food source for many secondary consumers. Currently, there is limited information regarding the ingestion of microplastics by zooplankton in southern California; a densely populated area with the potential for high quantities of microplastic pollution, as well as an important supplier of commercial fisheries. As such, we categorized the types and quantities of plastic ingested by important zooplankton foundation species through field surveys in four environments within the southern California Bight: 1) LA harbor, 2) a nearshore urban environment, 3) a channel, and 4) open ocean. We have shown that marine zooplankton are ingesting microplastic particles, indicating that species at lower trophic levels of the marine food web are mistaking plastic for food. In a laboratory setting, we have also shown that microplastics can be transferred from brine shrimp (Artemia salina) to a predatory moon jelly (Aurelia aurita), which raises fundamental questions about potential risks to higher trophic level species within different habitats of the southern California Bight. This represents a path whereby microplastics could enter the food web and transfer up trophic levels, potentially effecting commercially important species that humans rely on for food.
