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The widespread presence of microplastics in the ocean is a significant threat to marine life and humans. A study was conducted to investigate the extent of microplastic contamination in the coastal waters of Langkawi and Penang, situated on the northern coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Rock oysters (Saccostrea cucullata) were utilized as bioindicators due to its availability in all sampling sites to evaluate microplastics,by considering its abundance, types, polymer composition, and potential health risks related to consumption. Soft tissues were digested with 10% KOH, and the resulting microplastics were examined using a stereo microscope and microplastics polymer were identified through ATR-FTIR. Kok Beach and Penarak Beach exhibited notably higher microplastic abundance, mainly in the form of filaments with predominant black and red colours. The most common polymer types were cellulose triacetate (CTA) and polycyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate (PCT). Hazard Quotient values, indicating potential health risks from consuming S. cucullata, surpassed a critical threshold at all locations. The study's findings suggest that it serves as a fundamental reference for future research on microplastic contamination in the islands along the northern coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

The distribution of sailfish across Malaysian waters provides socioeconomic importance to the coastal community. However, there is a declining rate of catch in sport fishing event held in Pahang, Malaysia over the past four years from 2016 to 2019. The urgency to study local sailfish populations is also driven by the recent conservation status change of Indo-Pacific sailfish by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2022. Diet composition was determined throughout this study to perceive the feeding behavior of sailfish. The by-catch samples were collected at Kuantan, Pahang from March 2021 to December 2022. Only one species of sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus was observed during the period of sampling. The stomach contents of 170 samples were analyzed, and 566 prey items were identified to the lowest possible taxa. The index of relative importance percentage (%IRI) was calculated for the prey comparison. The top three dominant prey recorded from genus taxa were Amblygaster sp. (28.25%), Uroteuthis sp. (20.03%) and Encrasicholina sp. (18.22%). The least prey recorded was Scolopsis sp. (0.02%). Cluster analysis based on diversity and prey abundance between 2021 and 2022 was determined. The sailfish diet composed of high diversity of tropical pelagic fish which can be found in the Malaysian waters. This indicates sailfish as generalist predators in Pahang coastal waters that serve as nursing grounds for juveniles and early adults of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal and spatial variations of selected toxic elements distributions were studied along the Kuantan River. Surface and bottom waters from 9 sampling stations were taken from the estuary towards the upstream of Kuantan River using Van-Dorn water sampler during the rainy and dry season. Water samples were filtered and the filter papers were dried under the laminar flow and weighed until constant weight obtained. Filter papers were analyzed using Teflon Bomb digestion processes. The concentration of particulate Pb, Cd and Cr were in the range of 0.646 to 174.859 mg L-1, 6.047 to 271.497 mg L-1 and ND to 14.480 mg L-1, respectively. Particulate Pb, Cd and Cr obtained mostly higher in May 2012 during the dry season. Particulate Cd and Cr were found above the limits authorize by International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine river against Pollution (ICPR). Apart from the anthropogenic activities, rainy and dry season also become the important factors affecting the particulate metals concentrations and distributions in the waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study focuses on the distribution of rare earth elements in rocky shore ecosystem along east coast of Peninsular Malaysia coastal waters using the soft tissue of Saccostrea cucullata, Thais clavigera and Nerita chameleon as bioindicator, and deliberating on interspecies variability. The results were examined in relation to human health as well. Methods: Samples were treated using Teflon Bomb technique and concentrations of 14 naturally occurring REEs were measured using ICP-MS technique, along with selected trace metals for added data. Results:The results were certified using standard reference material BCR 668 with quality control practices. Constant REEs abundance patterns were found in all samples, with enrichment of LREEs over HREEs, which suggests that REEs are transported as a coherent group through aquatic ecosystems. There are variations in the REEs abundance for every site, however, they reveal connections in their REEs distribution patterns, which suggest that they are of parallel origins. As no data on the permissible limits of REEs in biota reported, assessment with permissible limits are quantified by comparing with Hg, Pb and Cd data as REEs concentrations seems to be lower compared with these metal values. Conclusions: Results showed that the values are considerably below the safety limit, with the exception of Ce and Nd in the soft tissue of S. cucullata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]