Prolonged exposure to microplastics can disrupt vital physiological processes in gorgonians, such as respiration. Although these pollutants do not cause visible damage to tissues and cells, their effects could have an ecological impact on these organisms that structure the seabed, particularly if exposure continues over time occurs alongside other environmental pressures, such as ocean warming, habitat degradation or the growing accumulation of plastics in the marine environment.
p>These are some of the findings, set out in an article published in Marine Pollution Bulletin , from a study led by experts Odei Garcia-Garin from the Faculty of Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) at the University of Barcelona, and the Institute of Aquatic Ecology at the University of Girona (IEA-UdG), and Núria Viladrich, also a member of the Faculty of Biology and IRBio. The study, funded by IRBio grant PR-2023, also involved collaboration with the Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (ICBIBE) at Universitat de València.
The study analyses, for the first time, the effects of prolonged exposure to microplastics on two representative Mediterranean gorgonian species: the white gorgonian (Eunicella singularis) and the violescent sea-whip (Paramuricea clavata).
Gorgonians are colonial organisms that play a vital role in Mediterranean benthic ecosystems and in the conservation of marine biodiversity. They form three-dimensional structures on rocky seabeds - known as coralligenous animal forests - providing shelter and habitat for many species of fish and invertebrates.
"Any disruption to its physiology could have consequences for many other associated species," explains expert Odei Garcia-Garin, lead author of the study and a member of the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the UB and the IEA-UdG.
