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Microplastic ingestion by zooplankton in Terengganu coastal waters, southern South China Sea
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Microplastics were detected in zooplankton sampled from Terengganu coastal waters in the southern South China Sea, with ingested particles including fibers, fragments, and films of various polymer types. The study adds to evidence that zooplankton - a critical link in marine food webs - widely ingest microplastics across Southeast Asian coastal waters.
This study investigates the presence of microplastics in surface seawater and zooplankton at five different locations off the Terengganu coast in Malaysia, southern South China Sea. A total of 983 microplastic particles, with an average abundance of 3.3 particles L were found in surface seawater. An average of one plastic particle was detected in 130 individuals from 6 groups of zooplankton. These groups include fish larvae, cyclopoid, shrimps, polychaete, calanoid and chaetognath where they ingested 0.14, 0.13, 0.01, 0.007, 0.005 and 0.003 particle per individual, respectively. Microplastics in the form of fragments are the most common type of ingested microplastics that ranged between 0.02 mm (cyclopoid) - 1.68 mm (shrimp and zoea). Contrastingly, fibers, which are identified as polyamide are the main type of microplastics that dominate in seawater.
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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.