A common sense approach for confronting coral reef decline associated with human activities

Owen, Richard; Mitchelmore, Carys L.; Woodley, Cheryl M.; Trapido-Rosenthal, Hank; Galloway, Tamara S.; Depledge, Michael H.; Readman, James W.; Buxton, Lucy; Sarkis, S.; Jones, Ross; Knap, Anthony H.

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2005.08.011

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…In recent years, coral reef health globally has significantly declined as a result of climate change impacts (sea level rise, ocean acidification), and repeated bleaching events from sustained elevated temperature events have occurred (Hoegh‐Guldberg et al 2017; Hughes et al 2018). Meanwhile, local‐scale stressors including municipal and industrial wastewater effluents, overfishing, recreational activities, and overland runoff (urban and agricultural inputs) have also been shown to directly contribute to coral decline and/or reduce the resilience of corals to global stressors (Owen et al 2005; Negri and Hoogenboom 2011; Spalding and Brown 2015; Duprey et al 2016). In particular, heavy metals, nutrients, and various organic chemicals can adversely impact corals at potentially environmentally relevant levels (e.g., van Dam et al 2011; Forbes et al 2016; Kroon et al 2020), particularly in densely populated areas or those that experience significant tourism, especially when combined with sheltered beach environments (Wood 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Critical Review of Organic Ultraviolet Filter Exposure, Hazard, and Risk to Corals

Mitchelmore

Burns

Conway

et al. 2021

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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There has been a rapid increase in public, political, and scientific interest regarding the impact of organic ultraviolet (UV) filters to coral reefs. Such filters are found in sunscreens and other consumer products and enter the aquatic environment via direct (i.e., recreational activities, effluents) or indirect (i.e., land runoff) pathways. This review summarizes the current state of the science regarding the concentration of organic UV filters in seawater and sediment near coral reef ecosystems and in coral tissues, toxicological data from early and adult life stages of coral species, and preliminary environmental risk characterizations. Up to 14 different organic UV filters in seawater near coral reefs have been reported across 12 studies, with the majority of concentrations in the nanograms per liter range. Nine papers report toxicological findings from no response to a variety of biological effects occurring in the micrograms per liter to milligrams per liter range, in part given the wide variations in experimental design and coral species and/or life stage used. This review presents key findings; scientific data gaps; flaws in assumptions, practice, and inference; and a number of recommendations for future studies to assess the environmental risk of organic UV filters to coral reef ecosystems.

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