Bibi, Fazeelat; Qazi, Adnan A: Microplastic abundance, morphology, and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) polymer characterization in the gastrointestinal tracts (GIT) of Wallago attu, surface water, and riverbed sediment from Head Panjnad, Punjab, Pakistan (2023) [dataset bundled publication]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995243 (dataset in review)
Abstract:
This dataset provides geo-referenced measurements of microplastic (MP) occurrence, abundance, morphological characterization, and FTIR polymer identification across three environmental matrices — surface water, riverbed sediment, and gastrointestinal tracts (GIT) of the freshwater catfish (Wallago attu Bloch & Schneider, 1801) — collected from Head Panjnad, Punjab, Pakistan (29.347842° N, 71.028484° E) in 2023. Head Panjnad represents the confluence of all five major Punjab rivers (Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej), constituting a key node of the Indus River Basin. Ten specimens of W. attu were morphometrically characterized and their GITs examined for MPs. Parallel water and sediment samples (n = 10 each) were processed through KOH/HNO₃ digestion, Whatman filtration, and stereomicroscopy, with polymer identity confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. Mean GIT MP burden was 12.08 ± 3.47 items/individual. Surface water MP concentration averaged 79.42 ± 17.82 items/m³. Riverbed sediment MP constituted a mean of 0.148% of total solids. Fiber morphotype dominated all three matrices (65–74%). PE, PP, nylon, and probable polyester (PET) were confirmed by FTIR across matrices. All data values in this submission are summary statistics (mean, SD, SE, min, max) aggregated over n = 10 replicates per matrix; individual-level raw data are not available.
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Cowger, Win; Steinmetz, Zacharias; Gray, Andrew B; Munno, Keenan; Lynch, Jennifer; Hapich, Hannah; Primpke, Sebastian; De Frond, Hannah; Rochman, Chelsea; Herodotou, Orestis (2021): Microplastic spectral classification needs an open source community: Open Specy to the rescue! Analytical Chemistry, 93(21), 7543-7548, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.1c00123
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Source:
Bibi, Fazeelat (2023): Microplastics in fish (Wallago attu) from Head Panjnad, Bahawalpur [thesis]. Master thesis, Department of Zoology, Cholistan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (CUVAS), Bahawalpur, Pakistan (CORRIGENDUM: The herein reported mean concentration 794.419 items/m³ for surface water was incorrect. The corrected mean concentration of 79.419 items/m³ was used in the datset (compare table 4.3: min = 44.57, max = 101.92, n =10).)
Documentation:
Coverage:
Latitude: 29.347842 * Longitude: 71.028484
Date/Time Start: 2023-01-01T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2023-12-31T00:00:00
Comment:
Additional related references:
* Ibrahim, M. (2016). FTIR spectral analysis for polymer identification (as referenced in your FTIR peaks file).
Key dataset features:
* Multi-matrix approach (fish + water + sediment) from a hydrologically important site (confluence of five major Punjab rivers in the Indus Basin).
* Full methodological details, limitations (no procedural blanks, detection limit ~100–300 µm, aggregated summary statistics only), and data quality notes are included in Metadata_README.txt and the submission package document.
* Summary statistics of fish morphometrics, microplastic burden, colour and shape distribution, and FTIR transmittance for gastrointestinal tracts of Wallago attu (n=10).
* Summary statistics of microplastic concentration (items/m³), colour and shape distribution, and FTIR transmittance in surface water samples (n=10). Note: Corrected mean concentration is 79.419 items/m³
* Gravimetric parameters, microplastic weight, concentration (% of total solids and items/m²), colour and shape distribution, and FTIR transmittance in riverbed sediment samples (n=10).
* Annotated FTIR spectral peak assignments (wavenumber, vibration type, functional group, polymer indication) for fish, water, and sediment samples with polymer summary table.
Acknowledgements:
The authors acknowledge the assistance of local fishermen at Head Panjnad for fish collection, and the Department of Zoology, CUVAS Bahawalpur for laboratory facilities.
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) (License comes into effect after moratorium ends)
Size:
4 datasets
Download Data (login required; moratorium until 2026-11-30)
Datasets listed in this bundled publication
- Bibi, F; Qazi, AA (in review): Microplastic abundance and morphology in the gastrointestinal tracts of the freshwater catfish (Wallago attu Bloch & Schneider, 1801) from Head Panjnad, Punjab, Pakistan (2023). https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995265
- Bibi, F; Qazi, AA (in review): Microplastic abundance and morphology in the surface water from Head Panjnad, Punjab, Pakistan (2023). https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995263
- Bibi, F; Qazi, AA (in review): Microplastic abundance and morphology in the riverbed sediment from Head Panjnad, Punjab, Pakistan (2023). https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995264
- Bibi, F; Qazi, AA (in review): Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) polymer characterization in the gastrointestinal tracts (GIT) of Wallago attu, surface water, and riverbed sediment from Head Panjnad, Punjab, Pakistan (2023). https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995257