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Impacts of marine debris on coral reef ecosystem: A review for conservation and ecological monitoring of the coral reef ecosystem
Summary
This review examines how marine debris, especially microplastics, threatens coral reef ecosystems by causing physical damage, spreading disease, and disrupting coral biology. Microplastics can stick to coral polyps and block their feeding, while also carrying harmful bacteria that cause coral diseases. Healthy coral reefs are vital for fisheries and coastal protection, so their decline from plastic pollution indirectly affects the millions of people who depend on reef ecosystems for food and livelihoods.
Coral reefs are the most spectacular underwater creation of nature. It enhances ecosystem functioning and marine biodiversity while also ensuring the livelihood of millions of coastal communities worldwide. Unfortunately, marine debris poses a serious threat to ecologically sensitive reef habitats and their associated organisms. Over the past decade, marine debris has been regarded as a major anthropogenic threat to marine ecosystems and gained scientific attention around the globe. However, the sources, types, abundance, distribution, and potential consequences of marine debris on reef ecosystems are hardly known. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of the current status of marine debris in various reef ecosystems across the world, with special emphasis on its sources, abundance, distribution, species impacted, major categories, potential impacts and management strategies. Furthermore, the adhesion mechanisms of microplastics to coral polyps, diseases caused by microplastics and are also highlighted.