Combined effects of microplastic and heat stress
Combined effect of microplastics and global warming on coral reefs
2021-2025: German Academic Exchange Service / Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)
Ph.D. Stipend of María Antonieta Panamá López Hernández, M.Sc.
Since marine heatwaves are predicted to occur with greater frequency and intensity and microplastics continue to accumulate in the oceans, it is important to understand how corals respond to these combined stressors.
For this, we will conduct two independent experiments and fieldwork in coral reefs to investigate the effect of microplastic pollution on the heat stress tolerance and recovery capacity of reef-building corals. All experiments will take place in the ‘Ocean2100’ aquarium facility of the Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany. In the first experiment, I will investigate how the immune defense of corals is affected during separate and combined stressors of heat stress and microplastics and how this dynamic shapes bleaching severity and recovery times. In the second experiment, I will investigate if the presence of microplastics has an effect on the energy budget of corals, because large energy reserved are known to benefit stress resistance and recovery times. Therefore, I will test if energy budgets have an influence on the capacity to respond and recover during separate and combined stressors of heat stress and microplastics. To date little is known about environmental plastic loads in coral reefs, hampering assessments of the potential threat that is posed to reef-building corals by realistic levels of microplastic pollution. Therefore, the third part of my Ph.D. project will focus on the variability of types and abundances of microplastics in corals and surrounding seawater in sites with different levels of anthropogenic pollution.
Highlighted publications
- López MA, Tirpitz V, Do M-S, Czermak M, Ferrier-Pagés C, Reichert J, Ziegler M. 2025. Heterotrophic feeding modulates the effects of microplastic on corals, but not when combined with heat stress. Science of The Total Environment 972:179026. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179026.
- Reichert J, Tirpitz V, Anand R, Bach K, Knopp J, Schubert P, Wilke T, Ziegler M. 2021. Interactive effects of microplastic pollution and heat stress on reef-building corals. Environmental Pollution 290:118010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118010