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Microplastic pollution status in the coral reef ecosystems on the Southern and Western coasts of Sri Lanka during the Southwest monsoon
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Researchers investigated microplastic contamination in six coral reef ecosystems along Sri Lanka's southern and western coasts during monsoon season. They found that small blue fibers were the dominant type, and that microplastic levels in corals were strongly linked to concentrations in surrounding water and sediment. The study suggests that while current contamination levels are relatively low, microplastics may still threaten coral health and warrant further monitoring.
We investigated the microplastics (MP) abundance, characteristics and pollution severity in the six coral reef ecosystems along the southern and western coasts of Sri Lanka during the southwest monsoon. The small blue-coloured fibres dominated within coral reefs and reef environments. The average coral, surface water and surface sediment MP concentration were 806.64 ± 93.72 particles kgww, 23.42 ± 5.01 particles m, and 54.11 ± 8.04 particles kgdw, respectively. Coral MP concentration was significantly correlated with surface water (r = 0.65) and surface sediments (r = 0.59) indicating that the reef environment was the source of coral MP enrichment. Coral MP concentration was spatially different (p < 0.05) which may likely be due to the changes in winds, waves, coral biology and plastic sources. MP Pollution Load Index indicated that low MP contamination hazard. Since the presence of MP often deteriorates coral's health, further investigations are necessary to understand the MP's effects on the health of coral reef ecosystems.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.