The School of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences (IUI), Eilat, Israel.
The School of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Israel National Center for Biodiversity Studies, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Environ Pollut. 2022 Dec 1;314:120285. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120285. Epub 2022 Sep 27.
Plastic additives (PAs) are chemical compounds incorporated into the plastic during the manufacturing process. Phthalate acid esters, bisphenols, and nonylphenols are all PAs found in marine environments and associated with endocrine-disrupting processes. However, our knowledge regarding the impact of endocrine-disrupting PAs on coral-reef organisms is limited. As reef population structure is directly linked to reproduction and larval settlement processes, interference with hormonal systems can impact coral-reef community structure, particularly if the effects of PAs differ among species. In the current study we exposed the reproductive products of four tropical coral-reef invertebrates to environmentally-relevant concentrations of four prevalent PAs in seawater: dibutyl phthalate (DBP), dimethyl phthalate, (DMP), 4-nonylphenol (4-NP), and bisphenol A (BPA), as well as to 10 higher laboratory concentrations of these PAs. Our results revealed that apart from the significant negative effect of the 1 μg/L of 4-NP on the settlement of the soft coral Rhytisma fulvum, none of the other tested materials demonstrated a significant effect on the exposed organisms at environmentally-relevant concentrations in seawater. The 4-NP high laboratory concentration (1000 μg/L), however, had significant negative effects on all the examined species. The high laboratory BPA concentration (1000 μg/L) significantly reduced fertilization success in the solitary ascidian Herdmaniamomus, up to its complete failure to reproduce. Moreover, the high laboratory DMP concentration (100 μg/L) had a significant negative effect on planulae settlement of the stony coral Stylophora pistillata. Our findings demonstrate the negative and selective effects of PAs on the development and reproduction of coral-reef organisms; and, specifically, the significant effect found following exposure to 4-NP. Consequently, if we aim to fully understand the impact of these contaminants on this endangered ecosystem, we suggest that the actual concentrations within the living organism tissues should be tested in order to produce relevant risk assessments for brooding-coral species.
塑料添加剂 (PAs) 是在制造过程中掺入塑料中的化学化合物。邻苯二甲酸酯、双酚和壬基酚都是在海洋环境中发现的与内分泌干扰过程相关的 PAs。然而，我们对内分泌干扰性 PAs 对珊瑚礁生物的影响知之甚少。由于珊瑚礁种群结构与繁殖和幼虫定殖过程直接相关，因此激素系统的干扰会影响珊瑚礁群落结构，特别是如果 PAs 在物种间的影响不同。在当前的研究中，我们将四种热带珊瑚礁无脊椎动物的生殖产物暴露于海水中四种常见 PAs 的环境相关浓度下：邻苯二甲酸二丁酯（DBP）、邻苯二甲酸二甲酯（DMP）、4-壬基酚（4-NP）和双酚 A（BPA），以及这些 PAs 的 10 种更高的实验室浓度。我们的结果表明，除了 1μg/L 的 4-NP 对软珊瑚 Rhytisma fulvum 幼虫定殖的显著负面影响外，在海水中的环境相关浓度下，其他测试材料对暴露的生物体均无显著影响。然而，4-NP 的高实验室浓度（1000μg/L）对所有检查的物种均有显著的负面影响。高实验室 BPA 浓度（1000μg/L）显著降低了独居海鞘 Herdmaniamomus 的受精成功率，直至其完全无法繁殖。此外，高实验室 DMP 浓度（100μg/L）对石珊瑚 Stylophora pistillata 的浮游幼虫定殖有显著的负面影响。我们的研究结果表明 PAs 对珊瑚礁生物的发育和繁殖具有负面影响和选择性；并且，特别是在暴露于 4-NP 后，发现了显著的影响。因此，如果我们要全面了解这些污染物对这个濒危生态系统的影响，我们建议应在活体组织内测试实际浓度，以便为有性繁殖珊瑚物种进行相关风险评估。
