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Accumulation of microplastics in various organs of fiddler crabs and sea cucumbers across the coastal habitats in Singapore
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Researchers examined microplastic contamination across multiple organs of fiddler crabs and sea cucumbers from Singapore's coastal habitats. They found microplastics in all species and organs, with the crabs' hepatopancreas showing the highest concentrations and female crabs accumulating more particles than males. The study confirms that microplastics can move beyond the digestive tract into internal organs of marine organisms, raising concerns about broader biological impacts.
Microplastics (or MPs) are an emergent threat to marine organisms. This study assessed MP contamination in the major organs of four species from Singapore's coastal habitats: Orange Fiddler Crab (Gelasimus vocans) and Porcelain Fiddler Crab (Austruca annulipes) from mangroves, Garlic Bread Sea Cucumber (Holothuria scabra) from seagrass beds and Synaptid Sea Cucumber (Synaptula recta) from coral reefs. MPs were prevalent in all species and their organs. Mean MP concentrations in fiddler crabs were 6.63 ± 0.97 MP individual-1 in G. vocans and 12.18 ± 3.38 MP individual-1 in A. annulipes, where their female crabs had significantly more MPs than males. This study also confirmed the translocation of MPs to the crabs' hepatopancreas, which had the highest MP concentrations compared to gills and digestive tracts. These observations suggest that the fiddler crabs' sexual dimorphism could influence feeding efficiency and behaviour. In contrast, the sea cucumbers had lower MP concentrations in their organs, where the average MP concentrations were 10.00 ± 2.32 MP individual-1 in H. scabra and 6.33 ± 0.69 MP individual-1 in S. recta. For H. scabra only, their respiratory trees showed the highest MP levels compared to their digestive tracts. Across the species, MPs were predominantly <1,000 μm in size, in fibre shape and polyethylene (PE). These findings provide critical baseline data on MP contamination across different organs in marine organisms, serving as proxies for MP pollution levels in the environment.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.