Analysis of Microplastic in Holothuria leucospilota (Echinodermata-Holothuroidea) and Sediments from Karachi coast, (Northern Arabian Sea)

Abstract

Microplastics are found in all aquatic environments, and they can have several negative impacts on marine life. In this study, the distribution of microplastics in the sediment and in the organs (gut, respiratory tree, and tentacles) of sea cucumber (Holothuria leucospilota) collected from Mubarak Village and Cape Monze on the Karachi coast of Pakistan were investigated. The microplastic amount in different organs of H. leucospilota was found as 15.3-40.45 pieces/individual in the gut, 15.45-23.9 pieces/individual in the respiratory tree, 8.9-9.55 pieces/individual in tentacles. The microplastic amount of sediment samples was 57.40-129.35 pieces/kg. Fibers were the dominant microplastic type, up to 99% of all samples. The results of the present study show that the region is contaminated with microplastics both in biota and in sediments.

Keywords

• Microplastic
• Pollution
• Pakistan
• Karachi
• Fiber

References

1. Ahmed, Q., Bat, L., Yousuf, F. (2015). Heavy metals in Terapon puta (Cuvier, 1829) from Karachi coasts, Pakistan. Journal of Marine Biology, 2015: 132768. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/132768
2. Ahmed, Q., Ali, Q. M., Bat, L., Öztekin, A., Memon, S., Baloch, A. (2021). Preliminary study on abundance of microplastic in sediments and water samples along the coast of Pakistan (Sindh and Balochistan)-Northern Arabian Sea. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 22(7).https://doi.org/10.4194/TRJFAS19998
3. Bai, Z., Wang, N., & Wang, M. (2021). Effects of microplastics on marine copepods. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 217, 112243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112243
4. Balasubramaniam, M., Phillott, A. D. (2016). Preliminary observations of microplastics from beaches in the Indian ocean. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter, 23, 13-16.
5. Barboza, L. G. A., Lopes, C., Oliveira, P., Bessa, F., Otero, V., Henriques, B., ... Guilhermino, L. (2020). Microplastics in wild fish from North East Atlantic Ocean and its potential for causing neurotoxic effects, lipid oxidative damage, and human health risks associated with ingestion exposure. Science of the total environment, 717, 134625. doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134625
6. Boucher, J. and Friot D. (2017). Primary Microplastics in the Oceans: A Global Evaluation of Sources. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. 43pp.
7. Brennecke, D., Duarte, B., Paiva, F., Caçador, I., Canning-Clode, J. (2016). Microplastics as vector for heavy metal contamination from the marine environment. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 178, 189-195. doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2015.12.003
8. Carlin, J., Craig, C., Little, S., Donnelly, M., Fox, D., Zhai, L., Walters, L. (2020). Microplastic accumulation in the gastrointestinal tracts in birds of prey in central Florida, USA. Environmental Pollution, 264, 114633.

9. Carvalho-Souza, G. F., Llope, M., Tinôco, M. S., Medeiros, D. V., Maia-Nogueira, R., Sampaio, C. L. (2018). Marine litter disrupts ecological processes in reef systems. Marine pollution bulletin, 133, 464-471, doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.05.049
10. Cincinelli, A., Martellini, T., Guerranti, C., Scopetani, C., Chelazzi, D., Giarrizzo, T. (2019). A potpourri of microplastics in the sea surface and water column of the Mediterranean Sea. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 110, 321-326, doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2018.10.026
11. Coc, C., Rogers, A., Barrientos, E., Sanchez, H. (2021). Micro and macroplastics analysis in the digestive tract of a sea cucumber (holothuriidae, Holothuria floridana) of the Placencia lagoon, Belize. Caribbean Journal of Science, 51(2), 166-174, doi.org/10.18475/cjos.v51i2.a2
12. Consoli, P., Romeo, T., Angiolillo, M., Canese, S., Esposito, V., Salvati, E., ... Tunesi, L. (2019). Marine litter from fishery activities in the Western Mediterranean sea: The impact of entanglement on marine animal forests. Environmental Pollution, 249, 472-481, doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.03. 072
13. Daniel, D. B., Ashraf, P. M., Thomas, S. N. (2020). Microplastics in the edible and inedible tissues of pelagic fishes sold for human consumption in Kerala, India. Environmental Pollution, 266, 115365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115365
14. Desforges, J. P. W., Galbraith, M., Ross, P. S. (2015). Ingestion of microplastics by zooplankton in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology, 69, 320-330, doi.org/10.1007/s00244-015-0172-5
15. García-Gómez, J. C., Garrigós, M., Garrigós, J. (2021). Plastic as a vector of dispersion for marine species with invasive potential. A review. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 629756, doi.org/ 10.3389/fevo.2021.629756
16. Gewert, B. (2018). Chemical Pollutants Released to the Marine Environment by Degradation of Plastic Debris (Doctoral dissertation, Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University).
17. Gewert, B., MacLeod, M., Breitholtz, M. (2021). Variability in toxicity of plastic leachates as a function of weathering and polymer type: A screening study with the copepod Nitocra spinipes. The Biological Bulletin, 240(3), 191-199, doi.org/10.1086/714506
18. Gregory, M.R. (2009). Environmental implications of plastic debris in marine settings—entanglement, ingestion, smothering, hangers-on, hitch-hiking and alien invasions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1526), 2013-2025, doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0265
19. Husin, M. J. M., Mazlan, N., Shalom, J., Saud, S. N., Abdullah Sani, M. S. (2021). Evaluation of microplastics ingested by sea cucumber Stichopus horrens in Pulau Pangkor, Perak, Malaysia. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(43), 61592-61600, doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15099-4
20. Ibabe, A., Rayon, F., Martinez, J. L., Garcia-Vazquez, E. (2020). Environmental DNA from plastic and textile marine litter detects exotic and nuisance species nearby ports. PloS one, 15(6), e0228811, doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228811
21. Idris, F., Febrianto, T., Hidayati, J. R., Nugraha, A. H. (2022). Microplastic abundance in sea cucumber at seagrass ecosystem of Bintan Island and surrounding area, Indonesia. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 967, No. 1, p. 012009). IOP Publishing, doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/967/1/012009
22. Irfan, M., Qadir, A., Mumtaz, M., Ahmad, S. R. (2020a). An unintended challenge of microplastic pollution in the urban surface water system of Lahore, Pakistan. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(14), 16718-16730, doi.org/ 10.1007/s11356-020-08114-7
23. Irfan, T., Khalid, S., Taneez, M., Hashmi, M. Z. (2020b). Plastic driven pollution in Pakistan: the first evidence of environmental exposure to microplastic in sediments and water of Rawal Lake. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1–10, doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07833-1
24. Isobe, A., Uchiyama-Matsumoto, K., Uchida, K., Tokai, T. (2017). Microplastics in the Southern Ocean. Marine pollution bulletin, 114(1), 623-626, doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.09.037
25. Iwalaye, O. A., Moodley, G. K., Robertson-Andersson, D. V. (2020). The possible routes of microplastics uptake in sea cucumber Holothuria cinerascens (Brandt, 1835). Environmental Pollution, 264, 114644, doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114644
26. Jaafar, N., Azfaralariff, A., Musa, S. M., Mohamed, M., Yusoff, A.H., Lazim, A. M. (2021). Occurrence, distribution and characteristics of microplastics in gastrointestinal tract and gills of commercial marine fish from Malaysia. Science of The Total Environment, 799, 149457, doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149457
27. Jepsen, E. M., de Bruyn, P. N. (2019). Pinniped entanglement in oceanic plastic pollution: a global review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 145, 295-305, doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.05.042
28. Karlsson, T. M., Vethaak, A. D., Almroth, B. C., Ariese, F., van Velzen, M., Hassellöv, M., Leslie, H. A. (2017). Screening for microplastics in sediment, water, marine invertebrates and fish: method development and microplastic accumulation. Marine pollution bulletin, 122(1-2), 403-408, doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.06.081
29. Kim, I. S., Chae, D. H., Kim, S. K., Choi, S., Woo, S. B. (2015). Factors influencing the spatial variation of microplastics on high-tidal coastal beaches in Korea. Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology, 69, 299-309, doi.org/10. 1007/s00244-015-0155-6
30. Long, M., Moriceau, B., Gallinari, M., Lambert, C., Huvet, A., Raffray, J., Soudant, P. (2015). Interactions between microplastics and phytoplankton aggregates: impact on their respective fates. Marine Chemistry, 175, 39-46, doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2015.04.003
31. Lusher, A. L., Burke, A., O’Connor, I., Officer, R. (2014). Microplastic pollution in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean: validated and opportunistic sampling. Marine pollution bulletin, 88(1-2), 325-333, doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.08.023
32. Mathalon, A., Hill, P. (2014). Microplastic fibers in the intertidal ecosystem surrounding Halifax Harbor, Nova Scotia. Marine pollution bulletin, 81(1), 69-79, doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.02.018
33. Miralles, L., Gomez-Agenjo, M., Rayon-Viña, F., Gyraitė, G., Garcia-Vazquez, E. (2018). Alert calling in port areas: Marine litter as possible secondary dispersal vector for hitchhiking invasive species. Journal for nature conservation, 42, 12-18, doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2018.01.005
34. Mohsen, M., Wang, Q., Zhang, L., Sun, L., Lin, C., Yang, H. (2019). Microplastic ingestion by the farmed sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus in China. Environmental pollution, 245, 1071-1078, doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.11.083
35. Mohsen, M., Lin, C., Liu, S., Yang, H. (2022). Existence of microplastics in the edible part of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. Chemosphere, 287, 132062, doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere. 2021.132062
36. Napper, I. E., Thompson, R. C. (2016). Release of synthetic microplastic plastic fibres from domestic washing machines: Effects of fabric type and washing conditions. Marine pollution bulletin, 112(1-2), 39-45, doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016. 09.025
37. Nelms, S. E., Barnett, J., Brownlow, A., Davison, N. J., Deaville, R., Galloway, T. S., ... Godley, B. J. (2019). Microplastics in marine mammals stranded around the British coast: ubiquitous but transitory?. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1075.
38. Neves, D., Sobral, P., Ferreira, J. L., Pereira, T. (2015). Ingestion of microplastics by commercial fish off the Portuguese coast. Marine pollution bulletin, 101(1), 119-126, doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015. 11.008
39. Okeke, E. S., Okoye, C. O., Atakpa, E. O., Ita, R. E., Nyaruaba, R., Mgbechidinma, C. L., Akan, O. D. (2022). Microplastics in agroecosystems-impacts on ecosystem functions and food chain. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 177, 105961, doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105961
40. Purcell, S.W., Samyn, Y. Conand, C. 2012. Commercially important sea cucumbers of the world. FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes. No. 6. Rome, FAO. 2012. 150 pp. 30 color plates
41. Roberts, D., Gebruk, A., Levin, V., Manship, B. A. D. (2000). Feeding and digestive strategies in deposit-feeding holothurians. Oceanography and Marine Biology, 38, 257-310.
42. Shim, W. J., Thomposon, R. C. (2015). Microplastics in the ocean. Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology, 69, 265-268.
43. Stelfox, M., Hudgins, J., Sweet, M. (2016). A review of ghost gear entanglement amongst marine mammals, reptiles and elasmobranchs. Marine pollution bulletin, 111(1-2), 6-17, doi.org/10.1016/ j.marpolbul.2016.06.034
44. Thompson, R.C., Olsen, Y., Mitchell, R.P., Davis, A., Rowland, S.J., Mcgonigle, D., Russell, A.E., 2004. Lost at sea: where is all the plastic? Science , 304(5672), 838.
45. Teuten, E. L., Saquing, J. M., Knappe, D. R., Barlaz, M. A., Jonsson, S., Björn, A., ... Takada, H. (2009). Transport and release of chemicals from plastics to the environment and to wildlife. Philosophical transactions of the royal society B: biological sciences, 364(1526), 2027-2045, doi.org/ 10.1098/rstb.2008.0284
46. Yousuf, F., Bat, L., Öztekin, A., Ali, Q. M., Ahmed, Q., Shaikh, I. (2022). Preliminary observation on microplastic contamination in the Scombridae species from coastal waters of Pakistan. Marine Science and Technology Bulletin, 11, 202-211, doi.org/10.33714/masteb.1101875
47. Yu, S. P. Y., Cole, M. C., Chan, B. K. (2020). Effects of microplastic on zooplankton survival and sublethal responses. Oceanography and Marine Biology.ISBN9780367367947.
48. Wang, T., Hu, M., Xu, G., Shi, H., Leung, J. Y., & Wang, Y. (2021). Microplastic accumulation via trophic transfer: can a predatory crab counter the adverse effects of microplastics by body defence?. Science of the Total Environment, 754, 142099, doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142099
49. Wright, S.L., Thompson, R.C., Galloway, T.S. (2013). The physical impacts of microplastics on marine organisms: a review. Environmental pollution, 178, 483-492, doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.02.031.