2 °C) in Plymouth harbour (UK), a biofilm was visible after just one week, and analysis showed a significant increase in microbial density over the 3-week experiment (Lobelle and Cunliffe, 2011). Notably, the plastic became less buoyant over time, and by the end of the experiment the plastic moved away from the surface and appeared

neutrally buoyant. When assessing plastic litter in the North Pacific gyre, Moore et al. (2001) randomly sampled debris for signs of fouling organisms. Only a small proportion (8.5%) of surface Selleck TGF beta inhibitor debris was colonised, and fouling decreased with particle size. However, at a depth of 10 m, a higher proportion of plastics debris was fouled with algae and diatoms. More recently, an analysis of microplastics (<1 mm) collected in surface tows from the western North Atlantic Ocean

between 1991 and 2007, has shown evidence of fouling (Morét-Ferguson et al., 2010). The study found low-density polymers (e.g. polypropylene and polyethylene) with higher densities than the same polymer found on beaches, concluding the increase in density resulted from biofouling at sea. Despite increases of plastic debris entering the marine environment throughout the last century, Law et al. (2010) found no significant change in microplastic abundance in the Northwest Atlantic over the past twenty years. To test whether new input of microplastics was compensated for by sedimentation of biofouled plastics to greater depths, they analysed material from sediment traps deployed at 500 to 3,200 m depths close Selleckchem AG14699 to the north Atlantic gyre, but found no significant accumulation Vildagliptin of plastic particles. The fate of fouled microplastics in gyres has now become a key research area for the 5 Gyres Project, in association with the Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF) (Eriksen and Cummins, 2010). High-density microplastics, including polyvinylchloride, polyester and polyamide, are likely found in their largest quantities in the benthos. However, determining the magnitude of microplastic debris on the seafloor is hindered by cost and difficulties of sampling

(Barnes et al., 2009). While ‘Fishing for Litter’ schemes, conducted in the Netherlands and Scotland, and submersible video-recordings can document the quantity of macroplastics present on the seafloor (Lozano and Mouat, 2009 and Watters et al., 2010), microplastics will fall below the lower limits of detection of these sampling methods. Therefore, quantification of microplastics in the benthos relies on sediment-grabs and benthic trawls using fine meshes. A recent study has found some of the highest microplastic concentrations within sediment thus far. Microplastics, <1 mm in diameter, consisting of fibres, granules, pellets and films, were found in all beach, harbour and sub-littoral sediment samples taken off the Belgian coast (Claessens et al.