Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d'Ecogéochimie des Environnements Benthiques, LECOB, F-66650, Banyuls, France.
Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d'Ecogéochimie des Environnements Benthiques, LECOB, F-66650, Banyuls, France.
Environ Pollut. 2019 Oct;253:322-329. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.07.024. Epub 2019 Jul 9.
Plastic pollution has been identified as a major threat for coastal marine life and ecosystems. Here, we test if the feeding behaviour and growth rate of the two most common cold-water coral species, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata, are affected by micro- or macroplastic exposures. Low-density polyethylene microplastics impair prey capture and growth rates of L. pertusa after five months of exposure. Macroplastic films, mimicking plastic bags trapped on deep-sea reefs, had however a limited impact on L. pertusa growth. This was due to an avoidance behaviour illustrated by the formation of skeletal 'caps' that changed the polyp orientation and allowed its access to food supply. On the contrary, M. oculata growth and feeding were not affected by plastic exposure. Such a species-specific response has the potential to induce a severe change in coral community composition and the associated biodiversity in deep-sea environments.
塑料污染已被确认为沿海海洋生物和生态系统的主要威胁。在这里，我们测试了两种最常见的冷水珊瑚物种——Lophelia pertusa 和 Madrepora oculata 的摄食行为和生长率是否受到微塑料或大塑料暴露的影响。低密度聚乙烯微塑料在暴露五个月后会损害 L. pertusa 的捕食和生长速度。然而，模拟深海礁石上被困塑料袋的大塑料薄膜对 L. pertusa 的生长影响有限。这是由于形成了骨骼“帽子”，改变了息肉的方向并使其能够获得食物供应，从而表现出一种回避行为。相反，塑料暴露对 M. oculata 的生长和摄食没有影响。这种特定于物种的反应有可能在深海环境中导致珊瑚群落组成和相关生物多样性发生严重变化。
