Microplastic pollution is an increasing problem in the marine environment. This study had three objectives: 1) determine if seagrass beds and adjacent sand flats in the Florida Keys differed in microplastics concentration, 2) determine if sea cucumbers from the Florida Keys and sand dollars from the panhandle of Florida contain microplastics, and 3) conduct a laboratory experiment on the sand dollar Mellita tenuis to determine if it will ingest plastic microbeads contained in sediment. Both seagrass beds and sand flats in the Florida Keys contained microplastics. Sediment near Pensacola Beach and in St. Joseph Bay contained microplastics. Sea cucumbers from the Florida Keys and sand dollars from the panhandle of Florida contained microplastics in their gut contents. In the laboratory, M. tenuis ingested microbeads in slightly lower proportions compared to surrounding sediment. Both sea cucumbers and sand dollars may make useful animals for monitoring sandy environments for microplastics pollution.

在海洋环境中，微塑料污染是一个日益严重的问题。这项研究具有三个目标：1）确定佛罗里达礁岛中的海草床和邻近的沙地平地层中的微塑料浓度是否不同； 2）确定佛罗里达礁岛中的海参和佛罗里达州的平地里的沙钱中是否含有微量塑料，以及3）进行一项对沙棘Mellita tenuis的实验室实验，以确定它是否会摄入沉积物中包含的塑料微珠。佛罗里达礁岛群的海草床和沙地均含有微塑料。彭萨科拉海滩附近和圣约瑟夫湾附近的沉积物中含有微塑料。来自佛罗里达礁岛的海参和来自佛罗里达州黑手党的沙钱的肠道内容物中都含有微量塑料。在实验室里，tenuis M.与周围沉积物相比，摄入的微珠比例略低。海参和沙钱都可以成为监测沙质环境中微塑料污染的有用动物。