QJ.NET | Videos | Forums | iPhone | MMORPG | Nintendo DS | Wii | PlayStation 3 | PSP | Xbox 360 | PC | Downloads | Contact Us

Researchers say sunscreen may be killing off coral

Posted Jan 30, 2008 at 07:11PM by Ceasar S. Listed in: Environmental Disasters, Oceans Tags: coral reef
Ó

Researchers say sunscreen kills off coral - Image 1


Researchers have discovered that chemicals from typical sunscreen can jumpstart the death of coral. Those chemicals crank up viruses within algae that live with coral species in a symbiotic relationship. The replicating viruses cause the algae, called Zooxanthellae, to explode. This not only denies coral of its food, but it also allows the viruses to spread to other coral.

Zooxanthellae provides energy to coral through photosynthesis. It's absence is obvious on dead "bleached" coral, as the algae also helps in giving coral its natural, characteristic color.

Roberto Danovaro of the Polytechnic University of Marche, Italy, currently leading the study on the algae, claims that even a little amount of sunscreen can kill off coral in four days. Now imagine what an army of sunscreen-lathered swimmers "snorkeling" over coral reef could do.

Tests were conducted on several well known and used brands of sunscreen, and all those tested were found to have contained four key ingredients in common: paraben, cinnamate, benzophenone, and a camphor derivative. The study also reflects that there could be as much as 6,000 metric tons of sunscreen washing off swimmers, threatening 10% of the world's coral reef with viral "bleaching."

However, some researchers believe that outright banning sunscreen will not be reasonable until more results could be found acceptably conclusive. Robert van Woesik, an expert on coral from Florida Institute of Technology, found the manner at which the tests were conducted quite questionable. He says there are other factors that are contributing to the death of coral reefs. Sunscreen is just one other factor.

More information could be had from the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

[Via National Geographic News] Permalink  |   Email this  |   Linking Blogs   |   Digg It!

Bookmark / Find this article on:

0 Comments


Sort by:


Contact

The QJ.net Network

RSS Feeds
Site Feed
QJ.NET RSS
Nintendo DS RSS
PlayStation 3 RSS
PSP Updates RSS
Wii RSS
Xbox 360 RSS
MMORPG RSS
Personal Computer Games RSS
iPhone - iPod Touch RSS
QJ.NET Forums RSS
Add QJ.NET
Add to My Yahoo!
Google Reader Subscribe with Bloglines
Add to your Kinja digest Subscribe in NewsGator Online
Subscribe with Pluck RSS reader Add 'www.qj.net' to Newsburst from CNET News.com
Subscribe with SearchFox RSS del.icio.us www.qj.net
Add to Technorati Favorite! Add to My AOL
furl! it Stumble for Treehugger!
User Favorites - November
Most Commented
No commented articles
User Favorites - November
Top Jumps
No available articles using criteria

 Username: 
 Password:
Forgot password
New user registration



Poll
Are unidentified flying objects (UFOs) really alien spaceships?
Earth Science
General Science
Health Science
Space
Archives



Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the TERMS & CONDITIONS and PRIVACY POLICY
Copyright © 2009, QJ.NET. All Rights Reserved.
Contact Us