October 2019
Microplastics affect sensitive coral species
Coral reefs are highly affected by global change, particularly rising sea water temperatures and environmental pollution. However, the effects of the increasing pollution of the oceans by microplastics are still largely unknown. Researchers at Justus Liebig University in Giessen and James Cook University in Townsville (Australia) have now investigated the effects of these particles on common coral species.
Jessica Reichert, Angelina L. Arnold, Mia O. Hoogenboom, Patrick Schubert und Thomas Wilke: Impacts of microplastics on growth and health of hermatypic corals are species-specific. Environmental Pollution, 113074, August 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113074
For more information:
Dr. Jessica Reichert, Prof. Dr. Thomas Wilke, Systematics and Biodiversity