About This Project

We aim to provide the first report of microplastic presence (or absence) in deepwater corals. Deepwater corals aren’t as well-known as their tropical, shallow-water relatives, but their reef structure magnifies seafloor biodiversity by providing unique niches for thousands of species, including many potentially undiscovered ones. Microplastics, if deepwater corals consume them, may present a new threat to these ancient and understudied ecosystems.

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What is the context of this research?

A staggering amount of plastic enters the ocean annually, yet it is not fully understood where all of those plastics go or how they interact with deepwater corals that we know so little about. Deepwater corals commonly live for centuries, and their structure provides unique niches for many species. However, they are wholly dependent on surface water productivity for food, which falls to the bottom in the form of “marine snow”. Unfortunately, surface-floating debris, including microplastics, are likely commingled with natural food particles, thus begging the question: do these deepwater corals consume microplastics? To answer this question, we traveled to the remote equatorial Pacific ocean, to one of the largest marine protected areas (MPAs).

What is the significance of this project?

If plastics are consumed by deepwater corals even in this remote, protected place, then deepwater corals everywhere are probably consuming them. Getting a baseline for the amount and types of microplastics will help us estimate what risks they pose to these unique seafloor ecosystems, especially in protected areas free of other threats. However, if these remote ecosystems are so far unmarred by microplastics, then there may still be hope for the more pristine parts of our planet if we take quick and effective management actions. Whether we find plastics in the corals or not, the investigation will yield vital insight into the scale and scope of the problem.

What are the goals of the project?

This project is simple: confirm or deny microplastic presence within a diversity of deep-sea coral samples (93 in total) from multiple depths (200-2500m deep) from a remote and fully protected MPA (already collected and in-hand). We will start analyzing our samples in September 2022, using a combination of microscopy and analytical chemistry techniques to detect microplastic particles. These methods will destroy part of the coral sample, but the microplastics will stay available for any future analysis needed. If we find them, we plan to characterize their shapes, sizes, and polymer composition, which can all affect how dangerous microplastics are to living organisms.