Simulated coal spill causes mortality and growth inhibition in tropical marine organisms.
Sci Rep
; 6: 25894, 2016 05 13.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27174014
ABSTRACT
Coal is a principal fossil fuel driving economic and social development, and increases in global coal shipments have paralleled expansion of the industry. To identify the potential harm associated with chronic marine coal contamination, three taxa abundant in tropical marine ecosystems (the coral Acropora tenuis, the reef fish Acanthochromis polyacanthus and the seagrass Halodule uninervis) were exposed to five concentrations (0-275 mg coal l(-1)) of suspended coal dust (<63 µm) over 28 d. Results demonstrate that chronic coal exposure can cause considerable lethal effects on corals, and reductions in seagrass and fish growth rates. Coral survivorship and seagrass growth rates were inversely related to increasing coal concentrations (≥38 mg coal l(-1)) and effects increased between 14 and 28 d, whereas fish growth rates were similarly depressed at all coal concentrations tested. This investigation provides novel insights into direct coal impacts on key tropical taxa for application in the assessment of risks posed by increasing coal shipments in globally threatened marine ecosystems.
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Contaminantes Químicos del Agua
/
Perciformes
/
Carbón Mineral
/
Antozoos
/
Alismatales
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Sci Rep
Año:
2016
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Australia