Vulnerability of Coral Reefs to Contaminants of Emerging Concern

Summary

This chapter reviews how micro-nanoplastics, persistent organic pollutants, and pharmaceuticals threaten coral reef ecosystems, with microplastics acting as both physical stressors and chemical vectors in already climate-stressed reef environments. Coral reef degradation has cascading consequences for the hundreds of millions of people who depend on reefs for food security and coastal protection, making contaminant vulnerability a human welfare issue as much as an ecological one.