Microplastic occurrence on digestive tract of marble goby fish (Oxyeleotris marmorata) from Jeneberang River, Makassar, Indonesia
Ega Adhi Wicaksono1, Shinta Werorilangi2, Muh Afdal3, Robby Nimzet4, and Akbar Tahir2

1Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada. Jl. Flora, Bulaksumur, Sleman 55281, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

2Department of Marine Science, Hasanuddin University, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan, KM 10 Tamalanrea 90245, Makassar, Indonesia.

3Departement of Marine Science, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Lambung Mangkurat University, Jl. A. Yani, Banjarbaru 70714, Banjarmasin, Indonesia.

4Environmental Management Study Program, Graduate School, Hasanuddin University, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan, KM 10 Tamalanrea 90245, Makassar, Indonesia.

Abstract

Microplastic pollution has been widely reported in various aquatic environments. Microplastics can also accumulate in fish through direct and indirect ingestion mechanisms. Marble goby (Oxyeleotris marmorata) is a freshwater fish that act as an ambush predator. This feeding habit suggests O. marmorata tend to accumulate microplastics from the aquatic environment through indirect ingestion. This fish is also one of the consumption commodities utilized in the Jeneberang River, where Microplastic pollution has been reported. The purpose of this study was to measure the abundance of microplastics from the digestive tract of O. marmorata from the Jeneberang River. The O. marmorata individuals were captured using gill nets and fish traps from the Jeneberang river during the wet and dry seasons. Microplastics from the digestive tract of O. marmorata were isolated using the alkaline digestive method. The results showed that microplastic was found in O. marmorata digestive tract with an average abundance 1.11 MP/Individual. Based on the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test, there was no difference in MP abundance on O. marmorata between the wet (0.94 MP/individual) and dry seasons (1.58 MP/Individual). Blue and line microplastics were the most abundant color and shape found in the samples. These results indicate that microplastics have been uptake even in high trophic level organisms on the Jeneberang River. Further research on the microplastic abundance in lower trophic level species in the Jeneberang River is also necessary to comprehensively understand the fate of MP in the Jeneberang River.

Keywords: Plastic, Debris, Pollution, Ingestion, Freshwater

Topic: Aquatic Pollution and Ecotoxicology (International)