The worlds oceans are becoming very acidic due to the burning of fossil fuels. In the Florida Keys and the Hawaiian islands corals are bleaching at terrifying rates by hot ocean water. It has now been confirmed by an Australian Study that corals are ingesting plastic micro beads leading to blockage of their intestinal tracts.
Corals eat zooplankton and the estimated 5 trillion pieces of floating plastic in the oceans are being consumed as well.
"Corals get energy from photosynthesis by symbiotic algae living within their tissues, but they also feed on a variety of other food including zooplankton, sediment and other microscopic organisms that live in seawater," lead study author Nora Hall, a researcher at James Cook University Masters in Australia, explained in a press release.
"We found that the corals ate plastic at rates only slightly lower than their normal rate of feeding on marine plankton," Hall added. "
From UPI Science:
When scientists cut open the plastic-eating coral to investigate, they found plastic particles entangled in digestive tissue. The findings suggest excessive plastic pollution could clog up the insides of coral species and prevent the organisms from digesting real food.
"Marine plastic pollution is a global problem and microplastics can have negative effects on the health of marine organisms," said Dr. Mia Hoogenboom, lead researcher at the ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University.
Hoogenboom, Hall and their colleagues are now looking to understand how plastics affect coral physiology. They are also trying to find out if other animals are consuming microplastics.
"We are also investigating whether fish on coral reefs eat plastics, and whether plastic consumption influences fish growth and survival." Hoogenboom said.
Research in the Great Lakes has shown that the plastic microbeads found in face wash and toothpaste eventually bypass water treatment plants and find their way into the stomachs of small fish. Scientists suggest the tiny plastic balls could easily make their way up the food chain and into the intestines of fish-eating humans.
Photos ‘a’ and ‘b’ show microplastics in the mouths of coral polyps. Photo ‘c’ shows plastic fragments found in the water near reef sites. (Photos: N.M. Hall)
From the Marine Biology study's abstract.
We report for the first time the ingestion of microplastics by scleractinian corals, and the presence of microplastics in coral reef waters adjacent to inshore reefs on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GRE, 18°31′S 146°23′E). Analysis of samples from sub-surface plankton tows conducted in close proximity to inshore reefs on the central GBR revealed microplastics, similar to those used in marine paints and fishing floats, were present in low concentrations at all water sampling locations. Experimental feeding trials revealed that corals mistake microplastics for prey and can consume up to ~50 μg plastic cm−2 h−1, rates similar to their consumption of plankton and Artemia nauplii in experimental feeding assays. Ingested microplastics were found wrapped in mesenterial tissue within the coral gut cavity, suggesting that ingestion of high concentrations of microplastic debris could potentially impair the health of corals.
You can see how they feed in this clip.