Human-made chemicals have snuck on down into the ocean depths, showing up in the tissues of deep-sea cephalopods, says new research. In a study to be published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, researchers found various persistent organic pollutants — including PCBs and DDT — in nine species of octopi, squid, cuttlefish, and nautiluses. “The fact that we detected a variety of pollutants in specimens collected from more than 3,000 feet deep is evidence that human-produced chemicals are reaching remote areas of the open ocean, accumulating in prey species, and therefore available to higher levels of marine life,” says study coauthor Michael Vecchione. “Contamination of the deep-sea food web is happening, and it is a real concern.”

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