United States Environmental Protection Agency, National Health & Environmental Effects, Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA.
United States Environmental Protection Agency, National Health & Environmental Effects, Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561, USA.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2018 Oct;135:587-593. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.07.067. Epub 2018 Jul 27.
The impact that microplastics (<5 mm) have on scleractinian coral is largely unknown. This study investigated calcification effects, size limits, and retention times of microbeads and microfibers in two Caribbean species, Montastraea cavernosa and Orbicella faveolata, in a series of three experiments. No calcification effects were seen in the two-day exposure to a microbead concentration of 30 mg L. M. cavernosa and O. faveolata actively ingested microbeads ranging in size from 425 μm-2.8 mm, however, a 212-250 μm size class did not elicit a feeding response. The majority of microbeads were expelled within 48 h of ingestion. There was no difference in ingestion or retention times of 425-500 μm microbeads versus 3-5 mm long microfibers. M. cavernosa and O. faveolata have the ability to recognize and reject indigestible material, yet, there is still a need to study effects of energetics and microplastic contamination as a result of ingestion and egestion.
微塑料(<5 毫米)对石珊瑚的影响在很大程度上是未知的。本研究通过一系列的三项实验,调查了两种加勒比石珊瑚,M. cavernosa 和 O. faveolata 对钙化作用、尺寸限制和微珠及微纤维滞留时间的影响。在为期两天的暴露实验中,浓度为 30mg/L 的微珠对石珊瑚无钙化作用。M. cavernosa 和 O. faveolata 可主动摄食粒径在 425μm-2.8mm 的微珠,但 212-250μm 的粒径则不引起摄食反应。大多数微珠在摄入后 48 小时内被排出。425-500μm 的微珠和 3-5mm 长的微纤维的摄食和滞留时间没有差异。M. cavernosa 和 O. faveolata 具有识别和排斥不可消化物质的能力,但仍需要研究因摄入和排出而导致的能量学和微塑料污染的影响。