Passive and Active Removal of Marine Microplastics by a Mushroom Coral (Danafungia scruposa)
Although millions of tons of plastics end up in oceans each year, floating plastics account for only about 1% of all plastic inputs in the ocean. Particularly, microplastics below 1 mm in length, are missing in surface waters due to removal processes like ingestion by marine animals, biofouling, and...
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2020-03-01
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doaj-2700d20dab0947b6b7ce130e65bcd2e82020-11-25T02:29:31ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452020-03-01710.3389/fmars.2020.00128498911Passive and Active Removal of Marine Microplastics by a Mushroom Coral (Danafungia scruposa)Elena Corona0Cecilia Martin1Ramona Marasco2Carlos M. Duarte3Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences (DISAT), University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, ItalyComputational Bioscience Research Center and Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaRed Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaComputational Bioscience Research Center and Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaAlthough millions of tons of plastics end up in oceans each year, floating plastics account for only about 1% of all plastic inputs in the ocean. Particularly, microplastics below 1 mm in length, are missing in surface waters due to removal processes like ingestion by marine animals, biofouling, and sinking. Here, we studied how a species of mushroom corals (Danafungia scruposa), common in the Maldives, contributed to the removal of microplastics from the water suspension through active (ingestion) and passive (adhesion to the surface) mechanisms. We evaluated if removal rates were affected by the presence of the coral natural prey (i.e., Artemia salina) and by biofouling on the surface of the microplastic. We found that the coral quickly interacts both actively and passively with microplastics and that the probability for the coral to ingest and retain microplastics was higher when the surface of the microplastic was biofouled. We also found that passive adhesion of microplastics was the primary mechanism through which corals sequester microplastics from the water column.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00128/fullmicroplastic ingestionmicroplastic adhesionMaldivesbiofouled microplasticsFungiidaecoral reef |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Elena Corona Cecilia Martin Ramona Marasco Carlos M. Duarte |
spellingShingle |
Elena Corona Cecilia Martin Ramona Marasco Carlos M. Duarte Passive and Active Removal of Marine Microplastics by a Mushroom Coral (Danafungia scruposa) Frontiers in Marine Science microplastic ingestion microplastic adhesion Maldives biofouled microplastics Fungiidae coral reef |
author_facet |
Elena Corona Cecilia Martin Ramona Marasco Carlos M. Duarte |
author_sort |
Elena Corona |
title |
Passive and Active Removal of Marine Microplastics by a Mushroom Coral (Danafungia scruposa) |
title_short |
Passive and Active Removal of Marine Microplastics by a Mushroom Coral (Danafungia scruposa) |
title_full |
Passive and Active Removal of Marine Microplastics by a Mushroom Coral (Danafungia scruposa) |
title_fullStr |
Passive and Active Removal of Marine Microplastics by a Mushroom Coral (Danafungia scruposa) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Passive and Active Removal of Marine Microplastics by a Mushroom Coral (Danafungia scruposa) |
title_sort |
passive and active removal of marine microplastics by a mushroom coral (danafungia scruposa) |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
issn |
2296-7745 |
publishDate |
2020-03-01 |
description |
Although millions of tons of plastics end up in oceans each year, floating plastics account for only about 1% of all plastic inputs in the ocean. Particularly, microplastics below 1 mm in length, are missing in surface waters due to removal processes like ingestion by marine animals, biofouling, and sinking. Here, we studied how a species of mushroom corals (Danafungia scruposa), common in the Maldives, contributed to the removal of microplastics from the water suspension through active (ingestion) and passive (adhesion to the surface) mechanisms. We evaluated if removal rates were affected by the presence of the coral natural prey (i.e., Artemia salina) and by biofouling on the surface of the microplastic. We found that the coral quickly interacts both actively and passively with microplastics and that the probability for the coral to ingest and retain microplastics was higher when the surface of the microplastic was biofouled. We also found that passive adhesion of microplastics was the primary mechanism through which corals sequester microplastics from the water column. |
topic |
microplastic ingestion microplastic adhesion Maldives biofouled microplastics Fungiidae coral reef |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00128/full |
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