The impact of plastic debris on the biota of tidal flats in Ambon Bay (eastern Indonesia)

Upper shores of Ambon Bay (eastern Indonesia) were severely polluted by plastic and other domestic waste. There were also substantial quantities of litter floating on the surface of the Bay, and it had collected on the seabed in the shallow sub-littoral zone. Litter smothered parts of the shore and had marked impacts on assemblages of organisms living in the sediment beneath it. Diatoms were at lower densities but meiofauna were more dense beneath litter than in litter-free areas. The composition of macrofaunal assemblages in litter-polluted areas was different from that of assemblages in litter-free parts of the shore.