Suripatty, Gabriel, Zamani, Neviaty P., Ferse, Sebastian C. A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0930-5356, Cordova, Muhammad Reza and Subhan, Beginer (2026) Microplastic Contamination across Water, Sediment, and Polycarpa aurata in a Coral Triangle Reef. Jurnal Ilmiah Perikanan dan Kelautan, 18 (3). pp. 863-886. DOI https://doi.org/10.20473/jipk.v18i3.93431.

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Abstract

Microplastic contamination is increasingly documented in coral reefs, but information on tropical reef-associated ascidians as potential biomonitors remains limited. This study characterized microplastics in surface water, sediment, and the ascidian Polycarpa aurata at two reef stations differing in proximity to a river mouth at Malalayang Beach, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Five water samples, five sediment samples, and three P. aurata specimens were collected per station. Microplastics were extracted using matrix-specific digestion and separation procedures, characterized by stereomicroscopy, and a subset was analyzed by ATR-FTIR. Microplastic abundance was 838 ± 191 and 790 ± 317 n m⁻³ in water, 390 ± 74 and 118 ± 32 n kg⁻¹ dry weight in sediment, and 11.17 ± 3.21 and 7.50 ± 2.31 n ind⁻¹ in P. aurata at the Near-River and Far-River stations, respectively. Sediment abundance was higher at Near-River (p < 0.0001), whereas no significant station differences were detected for water or P. aurata. Fibers dominated all compartments (76–97%). Among the 69 of 767 particles assigned a polymer type, synthetic elastomers and polyester were prominent. The consistent occurrence of microplastics in P. aurata supports further evaluation of this species as a candidate biomonitor, although validation across replicated sites, seasons, and larger organism samples is required.

Document Type:	Article
Programme Area:	PA3
Research affiliation:	Office for Knowledge Exchange
Refereed:	Yes
Document Access:	Open access
DOI:	https://doi.org/10.20473/jipk.v18i3.93431
ISSN:	2085-5842
Date Deposited:	12 Oct 2026 10:16
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2026 10:16
URI:	https://cris.leibniz-zmt.de/id/eprint/6302

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