Contamination characteristics of microplastics in marine invertebrates from urban, rural and aquaculture areas in South Korea

Abstract

Microplastics have become a global environmental concern because of their widespread presence in coastal areas, the open ocean, and polar regions. There are increasing observations of microplastic ingestion by marine organisms representing various trophic levels including seabirds, marine mammals, fish and invertebrates. Among marine organisms, bivalves can be useful bio-indicators for assessing microplastic pollution in water column because they filter large volumes of seawater, while lugworms can reflect microplastic pollution in bottom sediment. To assess the contamination characteristics of microplastics in marine invertebrates according to regional pollution types, mussels (M. edulis), oysters (C. gigas), and lugworms (Perinereis aibuhitensis) were collected from aquaculture, urban and rural areas in the southern coast of South Korea. Microplastics were detected in all samples analyzed in this study. Total 710 microplastics were identified from 89 individuals using μFT-IR. Most dominant types of microplastics were white (or colorless, 96%) in color, less than 300 μm in size (78%), fragment (96%) in shape, and PE, PP, and PS (95%) in polymer type. Interspecies and regional differences were not observed in the levels of ingested microplastics. Polymeric composition of ingested microplastic between 3 regions was different. Diverse kinds of polymer such as polyester, acrylic, polyether urethane, polyvinyl acetate,various trophic levels including seabirds, marine mammals, fish and invertebrates. Among marine organisms, bivalves can be useful bio-indicators for assessing microplastic pollution in water column because they filter large volumes of seawater, while lugworms can reflect microplastic pollution in bottom sediment. To assess the contamination characteristics of microplastics in marine invertebrates according to regional pollution types, mussels (M. edulis), oysters (C. gigas), and lugworms (Perinereis aibuhitensis) were collected from aquaculture, urban and rural areas in the southern coast of South Korea. Microplastics were detected in all samples analyzed in this study. Total 710 microplastics were identified from 89 individuals using μFT-IR. Most dominant types of microplastics were white (or colorless, 96%) in color, less than 300 μm in size (78%), fragment (96%) in shape, and PE, PP, and PS (95%) in polymer type. Interspecies and regional differences were not observed in the levels of ingested microplastics. Polymeric composition of ingested microplastic between 3 regions was different. Diverse kinds of polymer such as polyester, acrylic, polyether urethane, polyvinyl acetate,