ABSTRACT Many researchers have turned their attention to understanding microplastic interaction with marine fauna. Efforts are being made to monitor exposure pathways and concentrations, and to assess the impact such interactions may have. To answer these questions, it is important to select appropriate experimental parameters and analytical protocols. This study focuses on medusae of Cassiopea andromeda jellyfish: a unique benthic jellyfish known to favor (sub-)tropical coastal regions which are potentially exposed to plastic waste from land-based sources. Juvenile medusae were exposed to fluorescent poly(ethylene terephthalate) and polypropylene microplastics (< 300 µm), resin embedded, and sectioned before analysis with confocal laser scanning microscopy as well as transmission electron microscopy and Raman Spectroscopy. Results show the fluorescent microplastics were stable enough to be detected with the optimized analytical protocol presented, and that their observed interaction with medusae occurs in a manner which is likely driven by the microplastic properties (e.g. density, hydrophobicity).

This dataset accompanies a manuscript under the same title which has been published in Environmental Science and Technology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c09233. There are a total of 15 .zip folders containing data relevant to the creation of all figures and tables within the manuscript. These folders are accompanied by a "Read Me" .txt file explaining their exact contents.