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Presence of Microplastics in Sea Cucumber Paracaudina sp from Karimun Island, Kepulauan Riau, Indonesia
Summary
Researchers found microplastics in sea cucumbers collected from Karimun Island in Indonesia's Riau Archipelago, a region with significant anthropogenic activity. Sea cucumbers are deposit feeders that process large volumes of sediment, making them likely to ingest microplastics deposited on the seafloor.
Abstract Karimun is one of islands located in the Kepulauan Riau Province that has high anthropogenic activities which produces a certain amount of wastes, including plastics. The plastic wastes will be degraded into small-particles called microplastics. Due to its small size and widespread distribution, microplastics could be consumed by marine organisms, such as deposit feeder organisms including sea cucumber Paracaudina sp. The aim of this research was to determine type and abundance of microplastic particles and its correlation with the sea cucumber body size. Samplings of sea cucumber for microplastic analysis were taken from two stations by digging the sediment from each station. Separation of microplastic particles from sea cucumber organs was carried out through 4 stages, (a) dissection, (b) separation of organ from its body (c) submersion using KOH 10% solution (d) incubation for 3 weeks and (e) sorting visually. The results of this research found only 3 types of microplastic (fibre, film and fragment). The abundance of microplastic in Paracaudina sp. was found between 289.40-1380.00 particles/individu with fibers being the dominant type. Fibers are the most abundant in both stations followed by films and fragments. Independent t-test analysis revealed that the abundance of microplastic between the two stations was significantly different (p<0.05). Possitive correlation between microplastic abundance and the body-size of Paracaudina sp were found, indicating that the larger the size of sea cucumber, the higher microplastic particles contained in the body of the organisms.
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