The Presence, Abundance and Characteristics of Microplastics in some Crustaceans Species: Blue swimmer crab (Portunus armatus), Banana prawn (Penaeus merguiensis) and in Molluscs: Bivalve mollusc oyster (Amiantis umbonella) and Razor shell (Solen roseomaculatus) on Bandar Abbas City Shores, Southern Iran

Abstract

Abstract Microplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems constitutes a serious threat to the life of aquatic organisms and human health. This study aimed to identify the presence, abundance and characteristics of microplastics in Blue Swimmer Crab (Portunus armatus), Banana prawn (Penaeus merguiensis), Bivalve mollusc oyster (Amiantis umbonella) as well as in Razor shell (Solen roseomaculatus) living in Bandar Abbas coastal city shores on the Persian Gulf banks, south of Iran. Five sites along Bandar Abbas city coasts with different industrialization and urbanization levels were selected. After the collection and biometrics of the biological samples, the preparation and digestion steps of the samples were carried out to separate the microplastic particles using the flotation method. Then the characteristics of microplastics such as shape, color, size and type of particles were investigated by using microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The identified forms included fiber, piece and film, from which the fiber and film microplastics comprised the most and least identified forms in the studied species, respectively The identified particles were classified into three categories: 0.45-25, 25–250 and 250–500 micrometers, where most of the particles (66%) belonged to the 0.45-25 micrometers size range with black and blue colors. The most common polymers identified were polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene and polyamide. The average abundance of microplastics in Blue Swimmer Crab (Portunus armatus), Banana prawn (Penaeus merguiensis), Bivalve mollusc oyster (Amiantis umbonella) and Razor shell (Solen roseomaculatus) species in this study were 2.57 ± 1.23, 4.9 ± 1.95, 3.27 ± 1.26 and 4.05 ± 1.90 particles per gram respectively. Results of the correlation analysis showed a positive correlation at 0.01 level between the abundance of microplastic particles in the living samples soft tissue and their body size (weight and length).