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Sterol as an anthropogenic marker in surface sediments of Kapas Island, Terengganu
Nurul Fathihah Mt Nanyan1, Siti Nur Hidayah Ismail2, Mohamad Iznul Mua'azin Mohamad Zabidi3, Masni Mohd Ali4.
: Kapas Island is a little tropical island in the South China Sea which is well
known as one of the main tourist attractions located in Terengganu, Malaysia. This study
describes sterol distribution using sewage sterol data collected from surface sediments to
indicate the presence of anthropogenic effects on the coastal environment of Kapas Island.
Samples from a total of 15 sampling stations were collected, extracted and analysed using
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Terrestrial and sewage inputs of 7
sterol compounds were identified to evaluate the impact of human disturbance in the marine
sediment. The results indicate that the concentrations of sterol compounds ranged from
6.19 µg/g (dry weight) to 9.88 µg/g (dry weight) in the surface sediments. Faecal sterol
content was used as a tool to identify sources of organic material by using the ratio between
faecal sterols and terrestrial input caused by anthropogenic effects as a means to evaluate
pollution levels and marine ecosystem stability. The results of the analyses indicated low
concentrations and ratios of sewage sterols. Most sediment in the study area contains low
levels of sewage contamination, which is probably due to the sand that characterizes the
sediment. Sandy sediments are less likely to retain organic material, thus resulting in low
concentrations of sterol compounds in the sediments. Nevertheless, the presence of sterol
compounds is an indication of the human imprint/presence at Kapas Island.
Affiliation:
- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
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Indexation |
Indexed by |
MyJurnal (2021) |
H-Index
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4 |
Immediacy Index
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0.000 |
Rank |
0 |
Indexed by |
Scopus 2020 |
Impact Factor
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CiteScore (0.9) |
Rank |
Q3 (Geography, Planning and Development) Q4 (Pollution) Q4 (Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law) |
Additional Information |
SJR (0.175) |
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