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Microplastics ingestion and heterotrophy in thermally stressed corals
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Researchers exposed two coral species to ambient and elevated temperatures and then fed them microplastics, Artemia nauplii, or both, finding that thermal stress significantly reduced feeding on prey but did not decrease microplastic ingestion. Notably, one species only ingested microplastics when live food was simultaneously present, suggesting incidental rather than selective uptake and highlighting species-level variability in microplastic risk under climate change.
Rising sea temperatures and increasing pollution threaten the fate of coral reefs and millions of people who depend on them. Some reef-building corals respond to thermal stress and subsequent bleaching with increases in heterotrophy, which may increase the risk of ingesting microplastics. Whether this heterotrophic plasticity affects microplastics ingestion or whether ingesting microplastics affects heterotrophic feeding in corals is unknown. To determine this, two coral species, Montipora capitata and Pocillopora damicornis, were exposed to ambient (~27 °C) and increased (~30 °C) temperature and then fed microplastics, Artemia nauplii, or both. Following thermal stress, both species significantly reduced feeding on Artemia but no significant decrease in microplastics ingestion was observed. Interestingly, P. damicornis only ingested microplastics when Artemia were also present, providing evidence that microplastics are not selectively ingested by this species and are only incidentally ingested when food is available. As the first study to examine microplastics ingestion following thermal stress in corals, our results highlight the variability in the risk of microplastics ingestion among species and the importance of considering multiple drivers to project how corals will be affected by global change.
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Microplastics ingestion and heterotrophy in thermally stressed corals. Ingestion rate data
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This dataset reports ingestion rates of microplastics and Artemia (brine shrimp) by two thermally stressed coral species — Montipora capitata and Pocillopora damicornis — determined by dissection. The data supports research on how thermal stress affects the feeding behavior and microplastic uptake of reef-building corals.
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