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National Committee on Marine Sciences (NCMS)

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AGROVOC Keyword: search.filters.agrovoc.plastic debrisOcean Decade Challenge: search.filters.odc.Challenge 2: Protect and restore ecosystems and biodiversity

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    Interactions between marine megafauna and plastic pollution in Southeast Asia
    Omeyer, Lucy; Duncan, Emily M.; Abreo, Neil Angelo S.; Acebes, Jo Marie V.; AngSinco-Jimenez, Lea A.; Anuar, Sabiqah T.; Aragones, Lemnuel V.; Araujo, Gonzalo; Carrasco, Luis R.; Chua, Marcus A.H.; Cordova, Muhammad R.; Dewanti, Lantun P.; Espiritu, Emilyn Q.; Garay, Jovanie B.; Germanov, Elitza S.; Getliff, Jade; Horcajo-Berna, Eva; Ibrahim, Yusof S.; Jaafar, Zeehan; Janairo, Jose Isagani B.; Gyi, Thanda Ko; Kreb, Danielle; Lim, Cheng Ling; Lyons, Youna; Mustika, Putu L.K.; Neo, Mei Lin; Ng, Sirius Z.H.; Pasaribu, Buntora; Pariatamby, Agamuthu; Peter, Cindy; Porter, Lindsay; Purba, Noir P.; Santa Cruz, Ernesto T.; Shams, Shahriar; Thompson, Kirsten F.; Torres, Daniel S.; Westerlaken, Rodney; Wongtawan, Tuempong; Godley, Brendan J. (Elsevier, 2023-05)
    Southeast (SE) Asia is a highly biodiverse region, yet it is also estimated to cumulatively contribute a third of the total global marine plastic pollution. This threat is known to have adverse impacts on marine megafauna, however, understanding of its impacts has recently been highlighted as a priority for research in the region. To address this knowledge gap, a structured literature review was conducted for species of cartilaginous fishes, marine mammals, marine reptiles, and seabirds present in SE Asia, collating cases on a global scale to allow for comparison, coupled with a regional expert elicitation to gather additional published and grey literature cases which would have been omitted during the structured literature review. Of the 380 marine megafauna species present in SE Asia, but also studied elsewhere, we found that 9.1 % and 4.5 % of all publications documenting plastic entanglement (n = 55) and ingestion (n = 291) were conducted in SE Asian countries. At the species level, published cases of entanglement from SE Asian countries were available for 10 % or less of species within each taxonomic group. Additionally, published ingestion cases were available primarily for marine mammals and were lacking entirely for seabirds in the region. The regional expert elicitation led to entanglement and ingestion cases from SE Asian countries being documented in 10 and 15 additional species respectively, highlighting the utility of a broader approach to data synthesis. While the scale of the plastic pollution in SE Asia is of particular concern for marine ecosystems, knowledge of its interactions and impacts on marine megafauna lags behind other areas of the world, even after the inclusion of a regional expert elicitation. Additional funding to help collate baseline data are critically needed to inform policy and solutions towards limiting the interactions of marine megafauna and plastic pollution in SE Asia.
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    Attachment of potential cultivable primo-colonizing bacteria and its implications on the fate of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastics in the marine environment
    Bitalac, Justine Marey S.; Lantican, Nacita B.; Gomez, Norchel Corcia F.; Onda, Deo Florence L. (Elsevier, 2023-06-05)
    Plastics released in the environment become suitable matrices for microbial attachment and colonization. Plastics-associated microbial communities interact with each other and are metabolically distinct from the surrounding environment. However, pioneer colonizing species and their interaction with the plastic during initial colonization are less described. Marine sediment bacteria from sites in Manila Bay were isolated via a double selective enrichment method using sterilized low-density polyethylene (LDPE) sheets as the sole carbon source. Ten isolates were identified to belong to the genera Halomonas, Bacillus, Alteromonas, Photobacterium, and Aliishimia based on 16S rRNA gene phylogeny, and majority of the taxa found exhibit a surface-associated lifestyle. Isolates were then tested for their ability to colonize polyethylene (PE) through co-incubation with LDPE sheets for 60 days. Growth of colonies in crevices, formation of cell-shaped pits, and increased roughness of the surface indicate physical deterioration. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy revealed significant changes in the functional groups and bond indices on LDPE sheets separately co-incubated with the isolates, demonstrating that different species potentially target different substrates of the photo-oxidized polymer backbone. Understanding the activity of primo-colonizing bacteria on the plastic surface can provide insights on the possible mechanisms used to make plastic more bioavailable for other species, and their implications on the fate of plastics in the marine environment.