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Assessment of microplastic and trace element pollution in the southeastern Mediterranean coasts, Egypt, using shellfish Arca noae as a bioindicator
Summary
Researchers found microplastics in 48% of shellfish (Arca noae) sampled from five sites along Egypt's southeastern Mediterranean coast, with polyethylene as the dominant polymer, and detected zinc, cadmium, and lead in soft tissues at concentrations exceeding maximum permissible limits.
The ubiquitous presence of microplastics (MPs) and trace elements in the marine environment is regarded as a global threat to marine organisms. The current study aims to assess MP levels and trace element (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Se, and Fe) accumulation in the shellfish Arca noae collected from five locations along the southeastern Mediterranean coasts, Alexandria, Egypt. The frequency of the occurrence of ingested MPs in A. noae soft tissues was 48%, whereas the abundance of MPs was 1.65 ± 0.28 MP/individual and 0.58 ± 0.04 items g of the wet weight of tissue. Polyethylene was the most abundant polymer in A. noae, followed by polypropylene and polystyrene. The concentration levels of Zn, Cd, and Pb detected in the soft tissues of A. noae are higher than the maximum permissible limits. This study provides baseline data for further environmental assessments, with the use of A. noae as an early warning indicator in biomonitoring programs.