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This study aimed to determine the prevalence, characteristics, and ecological risks of MPs ingested by various echinoderm feeding groups. Sampling was conducted during low tide in the summer of 2020 at 14 rocky shores in the Western Cape of South Africa. By sampling various echinoderm feeding types, the abundance and characteristics of MPs (shape, color, and size by using microscopy and polymer type by using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) were measured. Potential ecological risks posed by MPs were assessed using hazards of respective polymer types. Mean abundance of MPs from all echinoderms was 9.32 (\u00b1 0.76 SEM) MPs\/individual (I), or based on weight, 1.11 (\u00b1 0.09 MPs\/g soft tissue wet weight). The abundance of MPs was highest in echinoderms sampled from Kalk Bay (56.41\u2009\u00b1\u20094.37 MPs\/I), with stormwater outfall pipes and human activities identified as primary source of MP contamination. Filter-feeding sea cucumbers had the highest MP abundance (21.06\u2009\u00b1\u20093.03 MPs\/I), suggesting that nonselective feeding echinoderms have higher MP uptake rates than other feeding-strategy echinoderms. The MPs in echinoderms were mainly black\/grey (45%) polyethylene terephthalate (PET; 50%) fibers (93%) that ranged from 1,000\u20132,000\u2009\u03bcm (35%) in size. The potential ecological risk of MPs was highest at Kalk Bay (site 9) due to the prevalence of low amounts of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). This is the first study on MPs in coastal echinoderms of the Western Cape in South Africa and provides a baseline for MPs in echinoderms. The findings are important because they offer the first indication that MP abundance may differ between echinoderm feeding groups.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/inteam\/vjaf169","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,22]],"date-time":"2025-11-22T19:21:12Z","timestamp":1763839272000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Abundance, characteristics, and risk assessment of microplastics in echinoderms along the Western Cape coastline, South Africa"],"prefix":"10.1093","author":[{"given":"Danielle","family":"Julius","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Conservation and Marine Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology , Cape Town,","place":["South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9811-9824","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adetunji","family":"Awe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Sustainable Oceans, Cape Peninsula University of Technology , Cape Town,","place":["South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9721-3544","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Conrad","family":"Sparks","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Sustainable Oceans, Cape Peninsula University of Technology , Cape Town,","place":["South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026020208563020100_vjaf169-B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101589","DOI":"10.1016\/j.genrep.2022.101589","article-title":"Insight of genetic features prevalent in three Echinoderm species (Apostichopus japonicus, Heliocedaris erythrogramma and Asterias rubens) and their evolutionary association using comparative codon pattern analysis","volume":"27","author":"Ahmed","year":"2022","journal-title":"Gene Reports"},{"key":"2026020208563020100_vjaf169-B2","author":"Anonymous","year":"2007"},{"key":"2026020208563020100_vjaf169-B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"121303","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envpol.2023.121303","article-title":"Spatio-temporal distribution of microplastics in water and sediment samples of the Plankenburg river, Western Cape, South Africa","volume":"323","author":"Apetogbor","year":"2023","journal-title":"Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex: 1987)"},{"key":"2026020208563020100_vjaf169-B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"115800","DOI":"10.1016\/j.marpolbul.2023.115800","article-title":"Stormwater outlets: A source of microplastics in coastal zones of Cape Town, South Africa","volume":"198","author":"Ariefdien","year":"2024","journal-title":"Marine Pollution Bulletin"},{"key":"2026020208563020100_vjaf169-B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"336","DOI":"10.1016\/j.marpolbul.2018.05.047","article-title":"Marine microplastic debris: An emerging issue for food security, food safety and human health","volume":"133","author":"Barboza","year":"2018","journal-title":"Marine Pollution Bulletin"},{"key":"2026020208563020100_vjaf169-B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1985","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2008.0205","article-title":"Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments","volume":"364","author":"Barnes","year":"2009","journal-title":"Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 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