Microplastics contamination in molluscs from mangrove forest of Situbondo, Indonesia

Mangrove ecosystem that lies between the land and the sea is vulnerable from the microplastics pollution caused by both land and marine-based activities. Mangrove ecosystem is home to many different faunas including molluscs and the presence of microplastics could be potential threats to the organisms. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the occurrence of microplastics in two different types of molluscs, which were bivalvia (Geloina erosa) and gastropoda (Telescopium telescopium) from the mangrove forest in Situbondo, East Java Province, Indonesia. Microplastics were analysed from 40 individual molluscs representing two different species. Overall, 459 particles of microplastics were retrieved from the samples. All samples of G. erosa contained microplastics particles and only one sample of T. Telescopium was found without microplastic. Four types of microplastics were identified from the samples: fiber, fragment, film and microbeads and fiber were the dominating type in both species. G. erosa contained higher number of microplastics particles than T. telescopium. The result of this study showed that there is a positive relationship between the size of organism and the occurrence of microplastics.