Microplastic contamination of Holothuria (Thymiosycia) arenicola Semper, 1868, Holothuria pardalis Selenka, 1867, sediments and seawater from Karachi Coast, Northern Arabian Sea, Pakistan
Yazarlar (4)
Quratulan Ahmed
Yabancı Kurumlar, Pakistan
Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Ayşah ÖZTEKİN Sinop Üniversitesi, Türkiye
Qadeer Mohammad Ali The Marine Reference Collection And Resources Centre, Pakistan
Prof. Dr. Levent BAT Sinop Üniversitesi, Türkiye
Makale Türü Açık Erişim Özgün Makale (SCOPUS dergilerinde yayınlanan tam makale)
Dergi Adı Marine Science and Technology Bulletin
Dergi ISSN 2147-9666 Dergi Bilgileri (2025)
Dergi Tarandığı Indeksler TR DİZİN
Makale Dili İngilizce Basım Tarihi 03-2025
Cilt / Sayı / Sayfa 14 / 1 / 10–19 DOI 10.33714/masteb.1641715
Makale Linki http://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/masteb/issue/91137
UAK Araştırma Alanları
Hidrobiyoloji Su Ürünleri Temel Bilimler Deniz Biyolojisi
Özet
Microplastics (MPs) are posing an increasing threat to the marine environment, affecting marine ecosystems and posing potential risks to human health through the food chain. This study aims to investigate the MP contamination of Holothuria (Thymiosycia) arenicola Semper, 1868, Holothuria pardalis Selenka, 1867, sediments and seawater from Buleji coasts of Karachi, Pakistan. The MP contamination was determined in the different body parts of sea cucumber species and both seawater and sediment samples were contaminated with microplastics. The results show that H. arenicola contains more microplastics than H. pardalis. In terms of shape and colour, fibres were the most common form of MPs (>99%), with black being the predominant colour. The highest to the lowest amount of MPs was determined as gut (52±26 pieces/individual in H. arenicola and 31±14 pieces/individual in H. paradis), coelomic fluid (18±10 pieces/individual in H. arenicola and 26±15 pieces/individual in H. paradis), respiratory tree (22±11 pieces/individual in H. arenicola and 14±9 pieces/individual in H. paradis and tentacles (13±8 pieces/individual in H. arenicola and 10±5 pieces/individual in H. paradis), respectively. Determination of MP pollution in these sea cucumbers and their surrounding environment is very important in terms of the importance of these organisms in the marine ecosystems. The biological impacts of MPs on sea cucumbers and other marine organisms can eventually affect humans through the food chain. Therefore, the paper advocates for the development of policies to monitor and reduce MP pollution in marine ecosystems.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Microplastic contamination | Microplastic fibres | Plastic pollution | Sea cucumbers