A study published by scientists at National Sun Yat-sen University has shown how microplastic pollution is altering the structure of coral skeletons, putting them at greater risk of being damaged or dissolving.
The study, led by department of chemistry chair Hsieh Shu-chen (謝淑貞) and Chen Chen-tung (陳鎮東), chair professor for research in the department of oceanography, was published last month in the journal Environmental Chemistry Letters, the university said last week.
Summarizing the study’s results, Hsieh said it showed how microplastic pollution directly drives the degradation of coral reefs and the diverse ecosystems they support.
Photo courtesy of National Sun Yat-sen University
An increasing number of coral reefs, particularly those in polluted environments, are likely to face such degradation unless stronger measures are taken to mitigate plastic pollution, Hsieh said.
In the study, the team cultivated the coral species Briareum violacea and exposed it to polyethylene microplastics at concentrations of 0, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 300 milligrams per liter for seven days.
Following the exposure, the team measured the changes in the coral’s skeletal structure, solubility and the levels of calcium in the seawater, the university said.
The researchers found that of the two calcium carbonite crystal structures found in healthy coral — calcite and aragonite — exposure to microplastics caused the structure of calcite to weaken significantly.
As calcite crystals gradually disappeared from the coral, they were replaced by a much more unstable crystalline form, known as amorphous calcium carbonate, the university said.
The team said these changes harmed the structural integrity of the coral, causing it to degrade more easily, while also raising the calcium ion concentration in the surrounding seawater.
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
Taiwan plans to cull as many as 120,000 invasive green iguanas this year to curb the species’ impact on local farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture said. Chiu Kuo-hao (邱國皓), a section chief in the ministry’s Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, on Sunday said that green iguanas have been recorded across southern Taiwan and as far north as Taichung. Although there is no reliable data on the species’ total population in the country, it has been estimated to be about 200,000, he said. Chiu said about 70,000 iguanas were culled last year, including about 45,000 in Pingtung County, 12,000 in Tainan, 9,900 in
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
ALLEGED SABOTAGE: The damage inflicted by the vessel did not affect connection, as data were immediately rerouted to other cables, Chunghwa Telecom said Taiwan suspects that a Chinese-owned cargo vessel damaged an undersea cable near its northeastern coast on Friday, in an alleged act of sabotage that highlights the vulnerabilities of Taipei’s offshore communications infrastructure. The ship is owned by a Hong Kong-registered company whose director is Chinese, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. An unidentified Taiwanese official cited in the report described the case as sabotage. The incident followed another Chinese vessel’s suspected involvement in the breakages of data cables in the Baltic Sea in November last year. While fishing trawlers are known to sometimes damage such equipment, nation states have also
RSS