Josi R. Taylor, Andrew P. DeVogelaere, Erica J. Burton, Oren Frey, Lonny
Lundsten, Linda A. Kuhnz, P.J. Whaling, Christopher Lovera, Kurt R.
Buck, James P. Barry, Deep-sea faunal communities associated with a lost
intermodal shipping container in the Monterey Bay National Marine
Sanctuary, CA, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Available online 30 April
2014, ISSN 0025-326X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.04.014.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X14002264)
Abstract: Carrying assorted cargo and covered with paints of varying
toxicity, lost intermodal containers may take centuries to degrade on
the deep seafloor. In June 2004, scientists from Monterey Bay Aquarium
Research Institute (MBARI) discovered a recently lost container during a
Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dive on a sediment-covered seabed at
1281 m depth in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). The site
was revisited by ROV in March 2011. Analyses of sediment samples and
high-definition video indicate that faunal assemblages on the
container?s exterior and the seabed within 10 m of the container
differed significantly from those up to 500 m. The container surface
provides hard substratum for colonization by taxa typically found in
rocky habitats. However, some key taxa that dominate rocky areas were
absent or rare on the container, perhaps related to its potential
toxicity or limited time for colonization and growth. Ecological effects
appear to be restricted to the container surface and the benthos within
?10 m.
Keywords: Megafauna; Macrofauna; Infauna; Marine debris; Pollution