Impacts of plastic-free materials on coral-associated bacterial communities during reef restoration

被引：1

作者：

Strudwick, Paige ^{[1
,4
]}

Camp, Emma F. ^{[1
]}

Seymour, Justin ^{[1
]}

Roper, Christine ^{[1
]}

Edmondson, John ^{[2
]}

Howlett, Lorna ^{[1
]}

Suggett, David J. ^{[3
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Technol Sydney, Fac Sci, Climate Change Cluster, Ultimo, NSW, Australia

[2] Wavelength Reef Cruises, Port Douglas, Qld, Australia

[3] King Abdullah Univ Sci & Technol KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

[4] Univ Technol Sydney, Fac Sci, Climate Change Cluster, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia

来源：

ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS | 2024年 / 16卷 / 01期

基金：

澳大利亚研究理事会;

关键词：

DISEASE;

D O I：

10.1111/1758-2229.13229

中图分类号：

X [环境科学、安全科学];

学科分类号：

08 ; 0830 ;

摘要：

Coral propagation and out-planting based restoration approaches are increasingly being applied to assist natural recovery of coral reefs. However, many restoration methods rely on plastic zip-ties to secure coral material which is potentially problematic for the marine environment. Plastic-free biodegradable alternatives may however pose unique risks to coral-associated bacterial communities integral to coral health. Therefore, to identify whether biodegradable materials differentially impact coral-associated bacterial communities we examined Acropora millepora coral-associated bacterial communities during propagation in two experiments on the Great Barrier Reef. Coral fragments were secured to coral nurseries with conventional plastic, metal, or biodegradable (polyester and polycaprolactone) ties. Tie failure and coral-associated bacterial communities were then characterized over six months. Minimal coral mortality was observed (3.6%-8%) and all ties had low failure rates (0%-4.2%) except for biodegradable polyester ties (29.2% failure). No differences were observed between coral-associated bacterial communities of fragments secured with different ties, and no proliferation of putatively pathogenic bacteria was recorded. Overall, our findings suggest that reducing reliance on conventional plastic is feasible through transitions to biodegradable materials, without any notable impacts on coral-associated bacterial communities. However, we caution the need to examine more coral taxa of different morphologies and new plastic-free materials prior to application. Plastic-free alternative tie materials do not cause differential impacts to coral-associated bacterial communities during coral propagation. Biodegradable polycaprolactone ties performed as well as conventional plastic ties. Consequently, plastic-free materials are suitable for use in reef restoration and to improve sustainability of practices should be transitioned to in the future. image

引用

页数：10