Article
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Tier 2
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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Environmental Sources
Marine & Wildlife
Policy & Risk
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Predicting microplastic dynamics in coral reefs: presence, distribution, and bioavailability through field data and numerical simulation analysis
Environmental Science and Pollution Research2025
4 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 48
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Frederieke J. Kroon,
George Vamvounis,
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Cherie A. Motti,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Cherie A. Motti,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Cherie A. Motti,
Marina Santana
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Marina Santana
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Marina Santana
Hemerson Tonin,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Cherie A. Motti,
George Vamvounis,
Cherie A. Motti,
George Vamvounis,
George Vamvounis,
George Vamvounis,
George Vamvounis,
Marina Santana
Lynne van Herwerden,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Cherie A. Motti,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Marina Santana
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Cherie A. Motti,
Marina Santana
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Cherie A. Motti,
George Vamvounis,
George Vamvounis,
George Vamvounis,
George Vamvounis,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Hemerson Tonin,
Lynne van Herwerden,
Lynne van Herwerden,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
George Vamvounis,
Lynne van Herwerden,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
George Vamvounis,
Lynne van Herwerden,
George Vamvounis,
George Vamvounis,
Marina Santana
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
George Vamvounis,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Marina Santana
George Vamvounis,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Lynne van Herwerden,
Cherie A. Motti,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
George Vamvounis,
George Vamvounis,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
Lynne van Herwerden,
Lynne van Herwerden,
Cherie A. Motti,
Cherie A. Motti,
Frederieke J. Kroon,
George Vamvounis,
George Vamvounis,
Marina Santana
Marina Santana
Cherie A. Motti,
Marina Santana
Summary
Researchers combined field sampling at Australia's Lizard Island with numerical hydrodynamic modeling to map microplastic distribution across reef habitats and assess bioavailability to corals, fish, sponges, and other species. Sediment was the dominant accumulation zone, biota contained microplastics at concentrations reflecting feeding strategies, and model simulations predicted particle trajectories within the reef system.
Study Type
Environmental
Understanding distribution and bioavailability of microplastics is vital for conducting ecological risk assessments (ERA) and developing mitigation strategies in marine environments. This study couples in situ data from Lizard Island (Great Barrier Reef) and numerical modelling and simulations to determine microplastic abundances in abiotic (water and sediment) and biotic (planktivorous fish, sea squirts, sponges, corals, and sea cucumbers) compartments and predict their trajectories within this ecosystem. Results show microplastics predominantly (75%) originate from beached plastics from nearby islands and coastal areas, dispersing northward without local entrapment and settlement likely occurring on northern beaches (> 50%), including Papua New Guinea. Concentrations increased by three orders of magnitude with depth, with distinct profiles: surface waters contained more fragments and low-density polymers at concentrations of < 1 microplastics m<sup>-3</sup>, and deeper layers more fibres and high-density polymers, with concentrations peaking at the seafloor at > 100 microplastics m<sup>-3</sup>. Reflecting ecological and physiological traits of each taxon, fish exhibited microplastic contamination levels nearly twice that observed in invertebrates, and while polymers and colours had no stronger evidences on influencing bioavailability, shape and size did, with fish more susceptible to contamination by microplastic fibres and all taxa to smaller-sized microplastic particles.