Selenium in buoyant marine debris biofilm

Marine debris is widespread in all the world's oceans. Currently little is understood about how marine debris affects the chemistry of the surface oceans, particularly trace elements that can adsorb to the surface of marine debris, especially plastic debris, or be taken up by biofilms and algae growing on the surface of marine debris. Selenium (Se) is a micronutrient that is essential to all living organisms. Average seawater Se concentrations in the modern ocean are <1 nM. Here we measure the concentration of Se in surface water and one deep water sample and the concentration of Se found in algae/biofilms growing on the surface of macro-debris collected in October of 2012. Concentrations of Se in biofilm varied more according to the type of biofilm rather than the type of plastic. However, further Se measurements are needed for more conclusive results.