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Tiny Plastics, Big Threat: How are Microplastics Impacting our Coral Reefs? | US EPA
Coral reefs worldwide are under threat from natural and human-made stressors including dredging, climate change, and plastic pollution. At EPA’s Coral Research Facility – an indoor wet lab in Gulf Breeze, Florida – scientists are studying them.
www.epa.gov
“What is still unknown are the exact mechanisms that are causing adverse effects,” Hankins explains. “Ingested microplastics could block the corals’ digestive tracts, which would either leave them feeling satiated, like they have a full stomach, or prevent digestion of their natural diet.”