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Updated: Sep 6, 2025

Multimodal Optical Microscopy Methods Reveal Polyp Tissue Morphology and Structure in Caribbean Reef Building Corals
Published on: September 5, 2014
Gulf of Mexico coralline algae are robust to sunscreen pollution
Alexandra MacVicar1, Sara J Stoppelmann2, Troy J Broomes3
1Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA.
Abstract:
Sunscreens generate a potentially important source of environmental contamination across marine and aquatic systems. Oxybenzone (benzophenone-3; BP-3) is one of the most common organic filters in chemical sunscreen and has been detected in seawater at high concentrations. In this study, we asked whether BP-3 contamination affected the photosynthesis, respiration, and photophysiology of rhodoliths collected offshore from popular Gulf of Mexico beaches in North Florida. We found no evidence for negative effects of the common organic UV filter BP-3 on Gulf of Mexico rhodoliths. This result is promising for the fate of these important algae who act as habitat builders and foundational components of global reef ecosystems.
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