Microplastic Quantification in Meretrix lyrata through Rapid Screening Method using Nile Red

Microplastic have emerged as a significant form of plastic pollution. Many ingestions in biota were reported worldwide. Filter feeder such as bivalves are prone to microplastic ingestion due to the non-selective feeding behavior. Shellfish are usually consumed as whole, without gut removal, which can pose a threat towards human consumption. Meretrix lyrata was chosen in this study to investigate the rate of microplastic ingestion under two factors: size class and harvesting seasons. This will be the first documentation of microplastic ingestion in M. lyrata using a rapid screening approach. Rapid screening approach is using fluorescent tagging on microplastic for biota samples in microplastic quantification. All samples (n = 81) in this study were positive with microplastic ingestion. A total of 15,867 microplastic were quantified, with the average microplastic ingestion of 195.90 ± 43.6 microplasticindividuals-1. Smaller sized clam tended to ingest more microplastic compared to larger sized clams but no significant differences (p = 0.05) in microplastic ingestion were observed according to harvesting season. Polyvinylchloride, polypropylene with silicate mix, resin dispersion and polydimethylsiloxane were identified. Microplastics pose threats by carrying toxic substances, causing harmful behavioral changes in marine life, damaging health when combined with contaminants, and increasing human exposure through contaminated seafood. Result from this study indicate that habitats for M. lyrata have pervasive microplastic pollution and raise the issue of high microplastic uptake in humans via M. lyrata consumption.