Relative prevalence of microplastics on mangrove crabs and soil in targeted crab harvesting sites in Luzon

• Main Authors: Imperial, Antonio Miguel C., Martinez, Michaella M., Tan, Jehan Ginette O.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2024
• Subjects: Microplastics; Scylla (Crustacea); Biology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdb_bio/61
• Institution: De La Salle University

Excessive use of plastics in the Philippines, combined with poor solid waste management has led to an amassing of microplastics in various habitats, with a major victim being mangrove forests. These microplastics pose a threat to the organisms that live within it as it can obstruct the day to day processes and overall growth of the inhabitants. The Scylla genus of crabs, commonly known as mangrove crabs, are a part of the affected organisms. Due to the economic and ecological importance of these mangrove crabs, the extent to which they are affected by the presence of microplastics should be analyzed. However, there is a lack of literature that provides this information. The study aimed to compare the prevalence, frequency of appearance in the sample, and type of microplastics in three Scylla crab tissues (muscles, gills, and hepatopancreas) collected from a representative east and west coast mangrove forest. Soil samples were also studied to discern possible sources for any microplastics present in the tissues of the crabs. It was found that there was a high prevalence and frequency of appearance of microplastics in all tissues of both locations, but no significant differences between tissue types and location. Fiber type microplastics were shown to be significantly more prevalent within samples. Identified sources of these plastics were mostly fishery-related paraphernalia such as fishing nets/gillnets or single use products such as face masks. These may have broken down and entered the organisms through digestion, respiration, or simply exposure to microplastics in the surrounding environment. Waste management methods, notably in reduction of plastic waste and responsible disposal/collection methods were recommended.