Beaches In Malaysia Research Articles

The Willingness to Pay for Beach Recreational Facilities in Malaysia

The tourism sector plays an important part in Malaysia's economy. It includes beach and recreational tourism. However, most recreational beaches in Malaysia do not impose an entrance fee on visitors. Depending on government funding to maintain recreational beach facilities is not the best option for the future. Therefore, funding directly from visitors is needed to help cater for beach maintenance costs. Based on this, it is crucial to understand how much visitors are willing to pay for the recreational use of beaches, as any money collected could be used to help to improve facilities and services at beach areas. This study investigated visitors' willingness to pay for recreational beach facilities and has provided policy recommendations for better management of tourist facilities and services in the future. Teluk Kemang beach in Port Dickson was chosen as the case study location. This study applied the Choice Experiments (CE) method, and the model used was the Conditional Logit (CL) model. This research used four attributes: amenities, recreational facilities, cleanliness, and entrance fee. The CL results revealed that visitors were willing to pay for good amenities and cleanliness, with values of RM2.07 and RM2.43, respectively. Therefore, it was discovered that it was practical to charge an entrance fee to cover improved maintenance of beach facilities.

The Willingness to Pay for Beach Recreational Facilities in Malaysia

The tourism sector plays an important part in Malaysia's economy. It includes beach and recreational tourism. However, most recreational beaches in Malaysia do not impose an entrance fee on visitors. Depending on government funding to maintain recreational beach facilities is not the best option for the future. Therefore, funding directly from visitors is needed to help cater for beach maintenance costs. Based on this, it is crucial to understand how much visitors are willing to pay for the recreational use of beaches, as any money collected could be used to help to improve facilities and services at beach areas. This study investigated visitors' willingness to pay for recreational beach facilities and has provided policy recommendations for better management of tourist facilities and services in the future. Teluk Kemang beach in Port Dickson was chosen as the case study location. This study applied the Choice Experiments (CE) method, and the model used was the Conditional Logit (CL) model. This research used four attributes: amenities, recreational facilities, cleanliness, and entrance fee. The CL results revealed that visitors were willing to pay for good amenities and cleanliness, with values of RM2.07 and RM2.43, respectively. Therefore, it was discovered that it was practical to charge an entrance fee to cover improved maintenance of beach facilities.

Nest microbiota and pathogen abundance in sea turtle hatcheries

Abstract Hatchery practices are pivotal to conservation success. In sea turtle hatcheries, reusing sand is a norm, but it remains unclear whether such an approach increases the risk of Fusarium solani species complex (FSSC) infection and mortality in sea turtle eggs. We employed 16S and ITS amplicon sequencing in sands and isolated Fusarium strains from diseased eggs across seven turtle hatcheries and their neighbouring beaches in Malaysia. FSSC was isolated from all sampled hatcheries, and Fusarium falciforme was the predominant species (82.9%). All but one hatchery had a distinct microbiota and higher abundance of FSSC (mean = 5.2%) than the nesting beaches (mean = 1.3%). The hatchery that maintained the most stringent practice by not reusing sand had a microbiota resembling that of nesting beaches, and the lowest FSSC abundance. The results of the current study imply that sand should not be reused in sea turtle hatcheries.

Isolation, detection of virulence genes, antibiotic resistance genes, plasmid profile, and molecular typing among Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated in Malaysian seawater from recreational beaches and fish.

Background and Aim:Despite the importance of the global emergence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections worldwide, there has been scanty information on its occurrence in Malaysian seawaters and fish. This study aimed to determine the occurrence of V. parahaemolyticus isolates using polymerase chain reaction targeted at toxin operon gene, thermostable direct hemolysin (tdh), and tdh-related hemolysin genes and to determine antibiotic resistance pattern, genes, and plasmid profile of V. parahaemolyticus from Malaysian seawaters and fish.Materials and Methods:Samples were collected from four recreational beaches in Malaysia (Port Klang; Bachok; Port Dickson; and Mersing). Thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose (TCBS) agar and chromogenic Vibrio agar were used for isolation and identification. Colonies with yellow color on TCBS and green color on chromogenic vibrio (CV) agar were considered to be V. parahaemolyticus and they were subjected to biochemical tests. All V. parahaemolyticus isolates were further subjected to identification using seven specific gene markers.Results:Seventy-three Vibrio isolates were recovered. Only one gene thermostable direct hemolysin (tdh) from seawater isolates of Vibrio has high virulence gene percentage (95.23%). Two genes alkaline serine protease (asp) and (tdh) had high percentage of virulence (83.87% and 80.64%, respectively) from fish. Comparatively, fish isolates have a higher virulence percentage compared to seawater isolates. Only gene streptomycin resistance B (strB) from seawater had 100% of the resistance genes. All isolates were multi-antibiotic resistant. Seventeen antibiotic resistance patterns were observed. The isolates had plasmids of varying sizes ranging from 2.7 kb to 42.4 kb. Dendrogram based on antibiotic resistance patterns of V. parahaemolyticus isolates discriminated the isolates into three clusters.Conclusion:This study demonstrated the occurrence of pathogenic, multi-antibiotic-resistant V. parahaemolyticus strains in Malaysian coastal waters and fish, and this could constitute potential public health risks.

Characteristic and Erosion Study of Uncoated Sand Proppant Using Impingement Test

The characterization and properties of sand from beaches in Malaysia that has potential to be used as proppant in hydraulic fracturing was investigated through impingement tests. Eight sand samples were obtained from eight different locations in Malaysia; three samples from West Coastal beaches (Selangor) and five from East Coastal beaches (Kelantan). These impingement tests were conducted by varying several parameters i.e. size ranges of sand, type of targeted metal and distance of nozzle standoff from target. In these tests, air was fed through an acrylic pipe with inner diameter of 8 mm and 4 m length at gas velocity of 100 m/s and flow rate of 200 l/min. 250 g of sand samples were fed in compressed air stream and the samples were projected toward targeted metal i.e. mild steel and aluminium with a 90° of impingement angle. These tests were conducted at different separation distance of 0.5, 2.5 and 5.0 inches of nozzle and target. The results were analysed by measuring the mass loss of the metals after impingement and the images of the impinged metals were captured using camera. The highest metal loss was obtained when the targeted metal was impacted with the largest size range of sand samples. The mass loss of mild steel ranged from 0.03 to 0.16 g and 0.10 to 0.22 g for aluminium, at a variable distance between the nozzle and metal target due to higher hardness of mild steel than aluminium. The mass loss reduced when the distance between nozzle and metal target increased due to energy loss because of the inter particle collision.

Tourist's motivation and behavioural intention between sun and sand destinations

Beaches in Malaysia are becoming attractive destinations for tourists all over the world because of their tranquil beauty. Previous research indicated the impact of motivation on behaviour intentions. Thus, the mediating role of tourists' satisfaction conceptualised as tourists' motivation on behavioural intention in the tourism industry was investigated in this study. Participants of this study constituted 165 international tourists. Smart- Partial Least Squares (PLS) was performed by the Variance Based-Structural Equation Modeling (VB-SEM) to test the hypothesis. The mediating role of tourist satisfaction on the relationship between tourist motivation and behaviour intentions was highlighted in this study. The path relationship revealed that the mediating variable has a highly significant indirect effect. It was also shown that tourists are attracted by sun and sand destinations. It further suggests that researchers should conduct more studies to know more about what information travellers will tell to their significant persons such as friends, family, colleagues, etc. about their tourism experience.

Tourist's motivation and behavioural intention between sun and sand destinations

Beaches in Malaysia are becoming attractive destinations for tourists all over the world because of their tranquil beauty. Previous research indicated the impact of motivation on behaviour intentions. Thus, the mediating role of tourists' satisfaction conceptualised as tourists' motivation on behavioural intention in the tourism industry was investigated in this study. Participants of this study constituted 165 international tourists. Smart- Partial Least Squares (PLS) was performed by the Variance Based-Structural Equation Modeling (VB-SEM) to test the hypothesis. The mediating role of tourist satisfaction on the relationship between tourist motivation and behaviour intentions was highlighted in this study. The path relationship revealed that the mediating variable has a highly significant indirect effect. It was also shown that tourists are attracted by sun and sand destinations. It further suggests that researchers should conduct more studies to know more about what information travellers will tell to their significant persons such as friends, family, colleagues, etc. about their tourism experience.

Effects of Perivitelline Fluid Obtained from Horseshoe Crab on The Proliferation and Genotoxicity of Dental Pulp Stem Cells.

Perivitelline fluid (PVF) of the horseshoe crab embryo has been reported to possess an important role during embryogenesis by promoting cell proliferation. This study aims to evaluate the effect of PVF on the proliferation, chromosome aberration (CA) and mutagenicity of the dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). This is an in vitro experimental study. PVF samples were collected from horseshoe crabs from beaches in Malaysia and the crude extract was prepared. DPSCs were treated with different concentrations of PVF crude extract in an 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay (cytotoxicity test). We choose two inhibitory concentrations (IC50 and IC25) and two PVF concentrations which produced more cell viability compared to a negative control (100%) for further tests. Quantitative analysis of the proliferation activity of PVF was studied using the AlamarBlue®assay for 10 days. Population doubling times (PDTs) of the treatment groups were calculated from this assay. Genotoxicity was evaluated based on the CA and Ames tests. Statistical analysis was carried out using independent t test to calculate significant differences in the PDT and mitotic indices in the CA test between the treatment and negative control groups. Significant differences in the data were P<0.05. A total of four PVF concentrations retrieved from the MTT assay were 26.887 mg/ml (IC50), 14.093 mg/ml (IC25), 0.278 mg/ml (102% cell viability) and 0.019 mg/ml (102.5% cell viability). According to the AlamarBlue®assay, these PVF groups produced comparable proliferation activities compared to the negative (untreated) control. PDTs between PVF groups and the negative control were insignificantly different (P>0.05). No significant aberrations in chromosomes were observed in the PVF groups and the Ames test on the PVF showed the absence of significant positive results. PVF from horseshoe crabs produced insignificant proliferative activity on treated DPSCs. The PVF was non-genotoxic based on the CA and Ames tests.

Plastic debris in the coastal environment: The invincible threat? Abundance of buried plastic debris on Malaysian beaches.

Studies on marine debris have gained worldwide attention since many types of debris have found their way into the food chain of higher organisms. Thus, it is crucial that more focus is given to this area in order to curb contaminations in sea food. This study was conducted to quantify plastic debris buried in sand at selected beaches in Malaysia. Marine debris was identified according to size range and distribution, and this information was related to preventive actions to improve marine waste issues. For the purpose of this study, comparison of plastic waste abundance between a recreational beach and fish-landing beaches was also carried out, since the different beach types represent different activities that produce debris. Six beaches along the Malaysian coastline were selected for this study. The plastic types in this study were related to the functions of the beach. While recreational beaches have abundant quantities of plastic film, foamed plastic including polystyrene, and plastic fragment, fish-landing beaches accumulated line and foamed plastic. A total of 2542 pieces (265.30 g m(-2)) of small plastic debris were collected from all six beaches, with the highest number from Kuala Terengganu, at 879 items m(-2) on Seberang Takir Beach, followed by Batu Burok Beach with 780 items m(-2). Findings from studies of Malaysian beaches have provided a clearer understanding of the distribution of plastic debris. This demonstrates that commitments and actions, such as practices of the 'reduce, reuse, recycle' (3R) approach, supporting public awareness programmes and beach clean-up activities, are essential in order to reduce and prevent plastic debris pollution.

Validation of the Enterococci indicator for bacteriological quality monitoring of beaches in Malaysia using a multivariate approach.

There is currently no established bacteriological beach quality monitoring (BQM) program in place in Malaysia. To initiate cost-effective, sustainable bacteriological BQM schemes for the ultimate goal of protecting public health, policy decision makers need to be provided robust, indigenous empirical findings that validate appropriate water quality parameters for inclusion in such monitoring programs. This is the first study that assesses the validity of enterococci as an ideal indicator for bacteriological BQM in Malaysia using a multivariate approach. Beach water and sand samples from 7 beach locations were analyzed for a total of twenty-one microbial and non-microbial water quality parameters. A multivariate approach incorporating cluster analyses (CA), principal component analyses (PCA), and factor analysis (FA) was also adopted. Apart from the weak correlations of Staphylococcus aureus with concentrations of Vibro species (r = 0.302, p = 0.037) and total coliforms (r = 0.392, p = 0.006) in seawater, no correlation existed between S. aureus concentration and other parameters. Faecal coliforms failed to correlate with any of the tested parameters. Enterococci also correlated with more quality parameters than faecal coliforms or any other indicator. Multiple linear regressions highlighted a significant, best fit model that could predict enterococci concentrations in relation to other parameters with a maximum predictive success of 69.64%. PCA/FA clearly delineated enterococci and faecal coliforms as parameters that weighed strongly for BQM while Staphylococcus aureus, faecal coliforms and enterococci weighed strongly for beach sand quality monitoring. On the whole, higher correlations of enterococci levels with other parameters than was observed for faecal coliforms suggest that the former be considered a preferred parameter of choice for BQM in Malaysia. Our findings provide meaningful evidence particularly as it relates to the correlation of Enterococci with pathogens and other non-microbial parameters. It also provides empirical data to validate the applicability of the enterococci indicator paradigm for bacteriological beach quality monitoring in Malaysia. The current study thus provides policy decision makers evidenced based approach to parameter streamlining for optimized beach sampling and sustainable bacteriological quality monitoring.

P58 Occurrence of virulence determinants among enterococci from recreational beaches in Malaysia

P58 Occurrence of virulence determinants among enterococci from recreational beaches in Malaysia

High-level aminoglycoside resistance and virulence characteristics among Enterococci isolated from recreational beaches in Malaysia

We report the first study on the occurrence of high-level aminoglycoside-resistant (HLAR) Enterococci in coastal bathing waters and beach sand in Malaysia. None of the encountered isolates were resistant to high levels of gentamicin (500 μg/mL). However, high-level resistance to kanamycin (2,000 μg/mL) was observed in 14.2 % of tested isolates, the highest proportions observed being among beach sand isolates. High-level resistance to kanamycin was higher among Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium than Enterococcus spp. Chi-square analysis showed no significant association between responses to tested antibiotics and the species allocation or source of isolation of all tested Enterococci. The species classification of encountered Enterococci resistance to vancomycin was highest among Enterococcus spp. (5.89 %) followed by E. faecium (4.785) and least among E. faecalis. A total of 160 isolates were also tested for virulence characteristics. On the whole, caseinase production was profoundly highest (15.01 %) while the least prevalent virulence characteristic observed among tested beach Enterococci was haemolysis of rabbit blood (3.65 %). A strong association was observed between the source of isolation and responses for each of caseinase (C = 0.47, V = 0.53) and slime (C = 0.50, V = 0.58) assays. Analysis of obtained spearman's coefficient showed a strong correlation between caseinase and each of the slime production (p = 0.04), gelatinase (p = 0.0035) and haemolytic activity on horse blood (p = 0.004), respectively. Suggestively, these are the main virulent characteristics of the studied beach Enterococci. Our findings suggest that recreational beaches may contribute to the dissemination of Enterococci with HLAR and virulence characteristics.

Speciation and antimicrobial resistance of Enterococci isolated from recreational beaches in Malaysia

We report the first study on the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant enterococci in coastal bathing waters in Malaysia. One hundred and sixty-five enterococci isolates recovered from two popular recreational beaches in Malaysia were speciated and screened for antibiotic resistance to a total of eight antibiotics. Prevalence of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium was highest in both beaches. E. faecalis/E. faecium ratio was 0.384:1 and 0.375:1, respectively, for isolates from Port Dickson (PD) and Bagan Lalang (BL). Analysis of Fisher's exact test showed that association of prevalence of E. faecalis and E. faecium with considered locations was not statistically significant (p < 0.05). Chi-square test revealed significant differences (χ(2) = 82.630, df = 20, p < 0.001) in the frequency of occurrence of enterococci isolates from the considered sites. Resistance was highest to nalidixic acid (94.84 %) and least for chloramphenicol (8.38 %). One-way ANOVA using Tukey-Kramer multiple comparison test showed that resistance to ampicillin was higher in PD beach isolates than BL isolates and the difference was extremely statistically significant (p < 0.0001). Frequency of occurrence of multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) isolates were higher for PD beach water (64.29 %) as compared to BL beach water (13.51 %), while MAR indices ranged between 0.198 and 0.48. The results suggest that samples from Port Dickson may contain MAR bacteria and that this could be due to high-risk faecal contamination from sewage discharge pipes that drain into the sea water.

Effect of Salinity on the Egg Hatching and Early Larvae of Horseshoe Crab Tachypleus gigas (Muller, 1785) in Laboratory Culture

Tachypleus gigas (Muller) the Southeast Asian horseshoe crab, is found to nest on sandy beaches in Malaysia, thus biological information about survival of this living fossil become crucial. Laboratory experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of salinity on duration to maturation and hatching success of their eggs. The effect on size, morphological changes and growth of the hatched larvae was also investigated. Eggs of T. gigas were collected from the newly nests made on breeding beach of Pekan, Pahang (Lat 3° 56.915’N; Long 103°21.933’ E) in Peninsular Malaysia. Triplicates of five different salinities (15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 ppt) were chosen for the experiments. A vernier caliper was used for size measurement under a stereo microscope. The morphological changes in prosomal width and length, body length, telson length, opisthosoma length and total length were recorded. Salinity range of between 25 and 35 ppt could be an optimal incubation condition. No egg hatched at salinity 15 and 20 ppt. Highest percentage of hatching was found at 30 ppt (91.11±5.57%). Hatching also occurred at 25 and 35 ppt with 65.56±1.73% and 74.4±2.31% success rate, respectively. The shortest molting time occurred at 15 ppt (25 days after hatching). Total size changes in larvae were also highest at 15 ppt but lowest at 35 ppt. There was no mortality in larvae maintained in all treatments. Early larval development would also affected by the salinity stress but its seemed tolerable.

Simulation of Andaman 2004 tsunami for assessing impact on Malaysia

Mistakenly perceived as safe from the hazards of tsunami, Malaysia faced a rude awakening by the 26 December 2004 Andaman tsunami. Since the event, Malaysia has started active research on some aspects of tsunami, including numerical simulations of tsunami and the role of mangrove as a mitigation measure against tsunami hazards. An in-house tsunami numerical simulation model TUNA has been developed and applied to the 26 December 2004 Andaman tsunami to simulate the generation, propagation and inundation processes along affected beaches in Malaysia. Mildly nonlinear bottom friction term in the deeper ocean is excluded, as it is insignificant to the simulation results, consistent with theoretical expectation. On the other hand, in regions with shallow depth near the beaches, friction and nonlinearity are significant and are included in TUNA. Simulation results with TUNA indicate satisfactory performance when compared with COMCOT and on-site survey results.

Corollospora besarispora, a new arenicolous marine fungus from Malaysia

A new species of Corollospora, C. besarispora is described from sand grains in association with driftwood, collected at Turtle Bay, Pulau Pangkor, Peninsular Malaysia. Corollospora colossa was also collected from sandy beaches in Malaysia, and most closely resembles C. besarispora . The species are compared and distinguishing characters highlighted.