Zooplankton-microplastic exposure in Delaware coastal waters: Atlantic blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) larvae case study.

High microplastic concentrations in the Delaware Bay have prompted concern regarding harm to local species. We consider the extent to which the zooplankton is exposed to bay-derived microplastics, focusing on Atlantic blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) during offshore larval migration. We simulate regional flow fields for a spawning season in the Delaware coastal system to advect passive Lagrangian microplastic and zooplankton tracers.

Methods for controlled preparation and dosing of microplastic fragments in bioassays.

Microplastic fragments (microfragments) are among the most abundant microplastic shapes found in marine ecosystems throughout the world. Due to their limited commercial availability, microfragments are rarely used in laboratory experiments. Here a novel method of microfragment production has been developed and validated.

Observations and Simulations of Microplastic Debris in a Tide, Wind, and Freshwater-Driven Estuarine Environment: the Delaware Bay.

Microplastic (MP) in estuarine and coastal environments remains poorly characterized, despite the importance of these physically dynamic regions as a buffer between land, freshwater environments, and the open ocean where plastic debris accumulates. We sampled MP particles to determine concentration, size, and type in Delaware Bay and numerically simulated transport and distribution at a high spatiotemporal resolution of positively buoyant particles, representing common MP types. Baywide MP concentrations averaged between 0.

Distribution of surface plastic debris in the eastern Pacific Ocean from an 11-year data set.

We present an extensive survey of floating plastic debris in the eastern North and South Pacific Oceans from more than 2500 plankton net tows conducted between 2001 and 2012. From these data we defined an accumulation zone (25 to 41 °N, 130 to 180 °W) in the North Pacific subtropical gyre that closely corresponds to centers of accumulation resulting from the convergence of ocean surface currents predicted by several oceanographic numerical models. Maximum plastic concentrations from individual surface net tows exceeded 10(6) pieces km(-2), with concentrations decreasing with increasing distance from the predicted center of accumulation.