Journal of Natural Environment

Distribution and accumulation of microplastic particles in the sediments of mangrove forests from Musa estuary, north-western Persian Gulf

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Science, Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology, Khorramshahr, Iran.

10.22059/jne.2025.381542.2706

Abstract

Microplastics are small pieces of plastic waste that result from the direct release of plastic particles as well as from the fragmentation of larger plastic items. They are emerging and stable pollutants that are scattered in different coastal and marine areas and they can be considered as a threat to the environment and aquatic life. To investigate the status of this pollutant, 20 samples were taken from the sediments of mangrove forests located in Musa estuary. The samples were transported to the laboratory in thick plastic bags to extract and count microplastic particles. Separation of microplastic particles from sediment particles was done by condensation separation method, identification and counting of particles using binocular optical microscope.  The average concentration of microplastic particles in the studied area was 15 per kilogram of sediment, and the maximum and minimum concentrations were 32 and 2, respectively. In this research, 35% of the found microplastics were fibers, about 32% were filaments, and 28% were pieces of the predominant form of microplastic particles. The predominant color of these particles was black/gray and white/transparent with 40 and 31% of all microplastics, respectively, and 14, 12 and 3% of microplastics were red/pink, yellow/orange and blue/green respectively. The results of this research showed that all kinds of microplastic particles in different shapes and colors are present in the sediments of mangrove forests from Musa estuary that the fishing and fishing industry, industrial and domestic waste, tourists and vehicle traffic are the most important sources of producing microplastic particles in Musa estuary sediments.

Keywords

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Journal of Natural Environment
Volume 78, Monitoring and Management of Natural Environmental Pollutants
June 2025
Pages 217-228