PMID- 38133373
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20231225
IS  - 2305-6304 (Electronic)
IS  - 2305-6304 (Linking)
VI  - 11
IP  - 12
DP  - 2023 Nov 30
TI  - Microplastic Quantification in Aquatic Birds: Biomonitoring the Environmental 
      Health of the Panjkora River Freshwater Ecosystem in Pakistan.
LID - 10.3390/toxics11120972 [doi]
LID - 972
AB  - Microplastic pollution has become a global concern, with potential negative 
      impacts on various ecosystems and wildlife species. Among these species, ducks 
      (Anas platyrhynchos) are particularly vulnerable due to their feeding habits and 
      proximity to aquatic environments contaminated with microplastics. The current 
      study was designed to monitor microplastic (MP) pollutants in the freshwater 
      ecosystem of the Panjkora River, Lower Dir, Pakistan. A total of twenty (20) duck 
      samples were brought up for four months and 13 days on the banks of the river, 
      with no food intake outside the river. When they reached an average weight of 
      2.41 +/- 0.53 kg, all samples were sacrificed, dissected, and transported in an ice 
      box to the laboratory for further analysis. After sample preparation, such as 
      digestion with 10% potassium hydroxide (KOH), density separation, filtration, and 
      identification, the MP content was counted. A total of 2033 MP particles were 
      recovered from 20 ducks with a mean value of 44.6 +/- 15.8 MPs/crop and 57.05 +/- 
      18.7 MPs/gizzard. MPs detected in surface water were 31.2 +/- 15.5 MPs/L. The major 
      shape types of MPs recovered were fragments in crop (67%) and gizzard (58%) 
      samples and fibers in surface water (56%). Other types of particles recovered 
      were fibers, sheets, and foams. The majority of these detected MP particles were 
      in the size range of 300-500 microm (63%) in crops, and 50-150 microm (55%) in gizzards, 
      while in water samples the most detected particles were in the range of 150-300 
      microm (61%). Chemical characterization by FTIR found six types of polymers. 
      Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) had the greatest polymer detection rate (39.2%), 
      followed by polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (28.3%), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) 
      (22.7%), polystyrene (6.6%), co-polymerized polypropylene (2.5%), and 
      polypropylene homopolymer (0.7%). This study investigated the presence of 
      microplastics in the crops and gizzards of ducks, as well as in river surface 
      water. The results revealed the significant and pervasive occurrence of 
      microplastics in both the avian digestive systems and the surrounding water 
      environment. These findings highlight the potential threat of microplastic 
      pollution to wildlife and ecosystems, emphasizing the need for further research 
      and effective mitigation strategies to address this pressing environmental 
      concern.
FAU - Bilal, Muhammad
AU  - Bilal M
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-7911-8014
AD  - Department of Zoology, Government College University Lahore, Lahore 54000, 
      Pakistan.
FAU - Yaqub, Atif
AU  - Yaqub A
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-3130-3114
AD  - Department of Zoology, Government College University Lahore, Lahore 54000, 
      Pakistan.
FAU - Hassan, Habib Ul
AU  - Hassan HU
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-3326-0143
AD  - Department of Zoology, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan.
AD  - Fisheries Development Board, Ministry of National Food Security and Research, 
      Islamabad 44000, Pakistan.
FAU - Akhtar, Sohail
AU  - Akhtar S
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-4870-152X
AD  - Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Haripur, Haripur 22620, 
      Pakistan.
FAU - Rafiq, Naseem
AU  - Rafiq N
AD  - Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200, Pakistan.
FAU - Ali Shah, Muhammad Ishaq
AU  - Ali Shah MI
AD  - Department of Chemistry, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200, Pakistan.
FAU - Hussain, Ibrar
AU  - Hussain I
AD  - Department of Statistics, Government College University Lahore, Lahore 54000, 
      Pakistan.
FAU - Salman Khan, Muhammad
AU  - Salman Khan M
AUID- ORCID: 0009-0004-0717-537X
AD  - Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200, Pakistan.
FAU - Nawaz, Asad
AU  - Nawaz A
AD  - Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
FAU - Manoharadas, Salim
AU  - Manoharadas S
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-1875-5976
AD  - Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, 
      Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
FAU - Rizwan Khan, Mohammad
AU  - Rizwan Khan M
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-6270-8539
AD  - Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, 
      Saudi Arabia.
FAU - Arai, Takaomi
AU  - Arai T
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-9440-7933
AD  - Environmental and Life Sciences Programme, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei 
      Darussalam, Gadong BE 1410, Brunei.
FAU - Rios-Escalante, Patricio De Los
AU  - Rios-Escalante PL
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-5056-7003
AD  - Facultad de Recursos Naturales, Departamento de Ciencias Biologicas y Quimicas, 
      Universidad Catolica de Temuco, Temuco 4780000, Chile.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20231130
PL  - Switzerland
TA  - Toxics
JT  - Toxics
JID - 101639637
PMC - PMC10748139
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Pakistan
OT  - Panjkora River
OT  - aquatic birds
OT  - freshwater
OT  - microplastic pollution
COIS- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
EDAT- 2023/12/22 12:42
MHDA- 2023/12/22 12:43
PMCR- 2023/11/30
CRDT- 2023/12/22 09:26
PHST- 2023/10/08 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2023/10/26 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2023/10/28 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2023/12/22 12:43 [medline]
PHST- 2023/12/22 12:42 [pubmed]
PHST- 2023/12/22 09:26 [entrez]
PHST- 2023/11/30 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - toxics11120972 [pii]
AID - toxics-11-00972 [pii]
AID - 10.3390/toxics11120972 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Toxics. 2023 Nov 30;11(12):972. doi: 10.3390/toxics11120972.