1. First evidence of microplastic pollution in the surface water of Malaysian Marine Park islands, South China Sea during COVID-19.
- Author
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Yusof KMKK, Anuar ST, Mohamad Y, Jaafar M, Mohamad N, Bachok Z, Mohamad N, and Ibrahim YS
- Subjects
- Humans, Microplastics, Plastics, Ecosystem, Water, Islands, Environmental Monitoring, China, Water Pollutants, Chemical analysis, COVID-19 epidemiology
- Abstract
Malaysia is bounded by the South China Sea with many islands that support species megadiversity and coral reef ecosystems. This study investigates the distribution of microplastics (MPs) in the surface water around the four marine park islands (Perhentian, Redang, Kapas, and Tenggol) during COVID-19. The global pandemic has reset human activities, impacting the environment while possibly reducing anthropogenic contributions of microplastic pollution near the South China Sea islands. It was found that Pulau Perhentian recorded the most abundance of MPs (588.33 ± 111.77 items/L), followed by Pulau Redang (314.67 ± 58.08 items/L), Pulau Kapas (359.8 ± 87.70 items/L) and Pulau Tenggol (294.33 ± 101.64 items/L). Kruskal-Wallis analysis indicates a significant difference in total MPs abundance between islands. There are moderate correlations between salinity, pH, temperature and MPs variability. Among these parameters, only temperature is significant (p < 0.05) as proven by the principal component analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. Nearly 99 % of MPs are fiber type, with the majority of them being black and transparent. Micro-FTIR spectroscopy revealed polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl methyl ether, polyamide, phenoxy-resins and polyurethane-acrylic are associated with MPs. The findings provide a new baseline reference for the MPs distribution on Malaysian islands, which contributes to a potential future direction regarding marine sustainability., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Zainudin Bachok reports financial support was provided by Marine Park and Resources Management Section, Department of Fisheries Malaysia (DOF), Malaysia. Yusof Shuaib Ibrahim reports article publishing charges was provided by Universiti Malaysia Terengganu., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2023
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