Accumulation of Microplastics in the Digestive Tract and Gonads and its Effects on Gonad Quality of Sea urchins Tripnesutes gratilla

Abstract

Marine plastic debris that is transported will move with the flow of water and float and then be degraded into smaller particles, namely microplastics, sink and settle on the substrate. Sea urchins as deposit feeders have the potential to ingest microplastic particles, where these particles can influence changes in behavior, growth, enzyme production, reproduction, and tissue structure. This study used a purposive sampling method with descriptive analysis for data related to the recording of morphometrics and gonadal quality as well as follow-up tests of the Tukey test and Pearson test. This study aims to analyze how the accumulation of microplastics in organs (digestive tract and gonads) affects the gonadal quality of sea urchins Tripneustes gratilla. The results showed that the number of microplastic particles found in the digestive tract of sea urchins was 233 particles/individual and in the gonads were 205 particles/individual with the color variants transparent, multicolor, blue, yellow, red, green, and purple. Gonadal quality assessment indicators are color, firmness, and gonadal index. Gonads with good quality were shown by sea urchins from Laha beach (site 1) with a composition of 40% bright orange, 40% yellow/pale yellow, 20% bright orange, very firm 80% and not firm20%, and a gonadal index value of 7.57 %. In contrast, gonads with poor quality were shown by sea urchins from Erie beach (site 4) with a composition of 80% brown and 20% gray, a very firm of 60% and 40% firm, and a gonadal index value of 3.08%. This difference in quality is thought to be the result of microplastic accumulation in the sea urchin organs which causes the satiated delusion.