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Characteristics and ecological risks of microplastic contamination from aquaculture ponds located on South Yellow Sea Mudflat
Summary
Researchers characterized microplastic contamination across aquaculture ponds on the South Yellow Sea mudflat, finding concentrations of 32 items/L in water and 253 items/kg in sediment, with higher levels in crab and shrimp ponds compared to fish ponds. Ecological risk assessment revealed pollution load indices exceeding 1 and a polymer risk index corresponding to risk level III, driven primarily by the high hazard score of polyvinyl chloride.
Microplastic (MP) has been widely documented in aquatic environments; however, studies on MP distribution in aquaculture ponds remain limited. This study first evaluated MP ecological risks in aquaculture ponds along South Yellow Sea mudflat. The results showed MP concentrations of 32 ± 5 items/L in pond water and 253 ± 54 items/kg in sediment. MP loads varied significantly across pond types, with higher levels in crab ponds (38 ± 4 items/L, 314 ± 27 items/kg) and shrimp ponds (31 ± 3 items/L, 237 ± 22 items/kg) compared with fish ponds (27 ± 3 items/L, 209 ± 29 items/kg), indicating habitat-specific MP accumulation patterns. Morphological analysis revealed that fibrous MPs were predominant, accounting for 47.30 ± 18.18% of waterborne particles and 57.78 ± 16.19% of sedimentary particles. Size distribution analysis showed MPs in the 250 - 500 μm range were most common (41.94 ± 13.35% in water and 43.09 ± 12.03% in sediment). Color analysis revealed a high proportion of transparent particles, while polymer characterization identified polyethylene (PE) as the dominant type, accounting for 33.62% of MPs in water and 34.62% in sediment. Ecological risk assessment showed that the pollution load index (PLI) values for water (1.17) and sediment (1.24) exceeded 1, indicating MP pollution in aquaculture ponds. The polymer risk index (PRI) scores corresponded to risk level Ⅲ for water (457.94) and sediment (399.40), primarily driven by the high hazard score of polyvinyl chloride. The potential ecological risk index (PERI), calculated as PRI × PLI, further revealed dangerous risk levels in both water (626.50) and sediment (618.92). These results demonstrate that aquaculture ponds face significant MP pollution risks, with contamination dynamics shaped by pond types and polymer characteristics. Such insights are valuable for developing MP control measures, improving pond management strategies, and safeguarding aquatic food security in anthropogenically influenced aquaculture systems.