Microplastic uptake by mud creepers (cerithidea obtusa) at Kukup, Johor.

Abstract

Microplastics are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment. This study was conducted to determine the microplastic accumulation in Cerithidea obtusa obtained from Larkin Central Market in Johor, Malaysia. The mean concentration of microplastics was 0.444 ± 0.111 - 0.852 ± 0.513 particles/individual. The most ingested microplastic was sized between 0.250 mm 0.593 ± 0.694 particles/individual and the least ingested ranged in size between 0.501 mm and 1.000 mm and between 1.001 mm and 5.000 mm (0.333 ± 0.555 particles/individual). As for the colours of the microplastics ingested, black microplastics were the most ingested at 68.09%, while the least ingested was green at 2.13%. Fibres were the dominant microplastic shape found in this study at concentrations of 0.568 ± 0.670 particles/individual. The fibres ingested by C. obtusa were of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) origin. Based on the non-parametric test (Spearman’s Correlation test), both specimen body length and soft tissue weight showed no correlation to microplastic ingestion rate (p = 0.273, p = 0.174). The results from this study will contribute to baseline knowledge on microplastic contamination of C. obtusa found in Johor, Malaysia. The study also showed that microplastics can find its way into humans through seafood consumption.