Nur Hazimah Mohamed Nor, Jeffrey Philip Obbard, Microplastics in 
Singapore’s coastal mangrove ecosystems, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 
Available online 21 December 2013, ISSN 0025-326X, 
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.11.025.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X13007261)
Abstract: The prevalence of microplastics was studied in seven 
intertidal mangroves habitats of Singapore. Microplastics were extracted 
from mangrove sediments via a floatation method, and then counted and 
categorized according to particle shape and size. Representative 
microplastics from Berlayar Creek, Sungei Buloh, Pasir Ris and Lim Chu 
Kang were isolated for polymer identification using Attenuated Total 
Reflectance–Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR–FTIR) spectroscopy. 
Microplastics were identified in all seven habitats, with the highest 
concentration found in sediments at Lim Chu Kang in the northwest of 
Singapore. The majority of microplastics were fibrous and smaller than 
20 μm. A total of four polymer types were identified, including 
polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon and polyvinyl chloride. The 
relationship between abundance of microplastics and sediment grain size 
was also investigated, but no relationship was apparent. The presence of 
microplastics is likely due to the degradation of marine plastic debris 
accumulating in the mangroves.
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