A PRELIMINARY STUDY: DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF MICROPLASTIC IN RIVERS OF SOUTH SULAWESI Shinta Werorilangi*1,5, Tri Harianto2, Ahmad Faizal1,5, Wilma Moka3, and Muh. Afdal4
1Department of Marine Science, Universitas Hasanuddin, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan Km. 10, Makassar - Indonesia
2Department Civil Engineering, Universitas Hasanuddin, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan Km. 10, Makassar - Indonesia
3Aquatic Resource Management Study Program, Department of Fisheriesm Universitas Hasanuddin, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan Km. 10, Makassar - Indonesia
4Department of Marine Science, Lambung Mangkurat University, Banjarmasin - Indonesia
5Marine Plastic Research Group, Faculty of Marine Science and Fisheries, Universitas Hasanuddin, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan Km. 10, Makassar - Indonesia
The population increase in urban areas and densely populated areas in South Sulawesi has had an effect on decreasing water quality. Anthropogenic activity in the watershed makes the river a route for microplastic (MP) contaminants to enter the open waters. This preliminary research aims to broadly analyze the distribution and abundance of microplastics in watersheds in densely populated areas in South Sulawesi. The sample compartment consists of taking samples of fish and gastropod biota by digestion method with KoH. Water was collected using a Neuston net and sediment samples were collected using a sediment corer. The results showed that samples in three areas, namely Cenrana River (Bone Regency), Maros River (Maros Regency), Kariango River (Pinrang Regency) had varying abundance of MP in fish and gastropod ranging from 0.3-3.2 items/ind. The surface water samples showed MP varying from 0.42 - 0.67 items/liter. Whereas in sediments the MP abundance range is 33.3-100 items/kg. The MP characteristics found were fragments (23%), films (0.6%), foams (0.2%), and lines (76%) with dominant color variations of blue, transparent, and white. MP size is in the range of 0.02-3.9 mm.
Keywords: Microplastics, Rivers, South of Sulawesi, Organisms, Sediments, Surface Water
