PARIS: Microplastics are clogging up the stomachs of coral in the Great Barrier Reef and contributing to their poor health.
There are 5 trillion pieces of microplastics floating in the ocean, with another 4 million tonnes entering waters every year.
Senior Lecturer in Marine Sciences at James Cook University, Dr Mia Hoogenboom, has been studying the effect of the microplastics on coral.
Coral is a non-selective feeder, so they tend to eat whatever comes in close proximity in seawater,’ said Dr Hoogenboom.
‘We found that Coral ingests plastics at approximately the same rate as they eat their normal food sources.’
After dissecting coral tissue, Dr Hoogenboom and her team found plastics deep within the gut cavity, indicating that they are not able to process them back out.
As a result, she says microplastics are contributing to the overall slow death of coral in the Great Barrier Reef.
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