Assessing the relationship between the abundance of microplastics in sediments, surface waters, and fish in the Iran southern shores, By Ali Agharokh

Research

Title	Assessing the relationship between the abundance of microplastics in sediments, surface waters, and fish in the Iran southern shores
Type	Article
Keywords	Microplastics · Sediments · Surface waters · Fish · Polymer · Persian Gulf
Journal	ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17128-8
Researchers	Ali Agharokh (First researcher) , Mojtaba S.Taleshi (Second researcher) , Mehdi Bibak (Third researcher) , Majid Rasta (Fourth researcher) , Hor Torabi (Fifth researcher) , Belen Rubio (Not in first six researchers)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the microplastic (MP) pollution in sediments, surface waters, and four fsh spe‑ cies in the northern coast of the Persian Gulf. Sampling was conducted in seven important regions during December 2019. The abundance of MPs was respectively 190±35.5 items/kg dry weight for sediments, 9.28±2.1 items/km2 for surface waters, and 0.33±0.05 items/individual for fsh. There was no correlation between MP abundance in surface water, sedi‑ ment, and fsh samples. Except for Cynoglossus arel, abundance of isolated MPs did not show signifcant relationships with body weight, body length, and gastrointestinal tract weight (P>0.05). MPs were ranged from 0.3 to 5 mm in size and were prevailed by fber in shape; black, red, and blue in color; and polypropylene and polyethylene in polymer. This study may help in increasing our knowledge regarding MP pollution in marine water systems and biota.