Jessica Reichert

INVITED COMMENTARY
Growing Apart: Global Warming Severely Impacts the Symbiosis of the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid and Bioluminescent Bacteria

🔗 buff.ly/Ql8otbl
@jessireichert.bsky.social

Our Research Topic “Occurrence, Impacts, and Interactions of Plastic Pollution in Coral Reef Ecosystems” is still accepting submissions!

🪸We’ve extended the deadline to 21 July 2025🪸

www.frontiersin.org/research-top...

This project was only possible thanks to a fantastic collaboration. Huge thanks to Silvia Morgana, Martina Pierdomenico, Daniel Schar, and Joshua S. Madin, it was a pleasure working with you on this project!

So what does this mean?

Coral colonies with bulky, low-complexity morphologies trap more microplastics under natural exposure. These corals may act as passive sinks, with implications for particle retention and downstream reef contamination.

Corals with lower fractal dimension, higher sphericity, and lower compactness had higher MP densities on surface and tissue. Colony-level complexity better explained MP retention than fragment-level complexity.

MP loads were compartmentalized:
• 61% on surface
• 30% in tissue
• 9% in skeleton
Surface loads were significantly higher than tissue or skeleton.

We found mostly microplastic fragments (67%), with PVC and polyester dominating and between 0.1–1 mm in size.

We sampled 6 coral colonies with varying morphologies from Kāne‘ohe Bay, Hawai‘i. We extracted microplastic particles in the lab and analyzed them via FTIR, and documented coral shape via photogrammetry and 3D scanning.

New publication 🪸🤿

How does coral morphology affect microplastic accumulation?
In our new study in Environmental Pollution, we quantify microplastic loads in Pocillopora spp. and link them to 3D structural complexity.
📖 doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126480

Uncovering how harmful microplastics stick to coral reefs | Waterloo News University of Waterloo researchers have pinpointed for the first time how microplastics accumulate in coral reefs, a key step to understanding how to protect vulnerable ecosystems. A team at Waterloo’...

CORAL RESEARCH NEWS: Uncovering how harmful microplastics stick to coral reefs (University of Waterloo)

uwaterloo.ca/news/media/u...

#coralreefs #coralresearch #coralnews #microplastics #coralhealth #chemicalengineering #nanotechnology #marineecology #marinebiology

Our Research Topic is still accepting submissions. Share your cutting-edge research on this exciting topic!

Manuscript Submission Deadline: 23 March 2025

For more information and submission guidelines, please visit: www.frontiersin.org/research-top... or reach out to me!

Yes to all of this! 😄

So, to put it simply, Let's stop adding more plastic to the environment to keep pollution levels low and bearable for corals! We still have a chance to act!

#ReuseReduceRecycle #StopPlasticPollution

We found that extreme microplastic concentrations have a disproportionately large effect on the physiology of the coral host. While the coral hosts mainly follow basic nonlinear dose-response patterns, their photosymbionts follow complex nonlinear dose-response patterns with thresholds.

We investigated the #concentration-dependent effects of a #microplastic mixture on the physiology of the #coral host and the photosynthetic efficiency of their #photosymbionts.

We exposed two coral species to different concentrations of a #microplastic mixture.

Increasing microplastic concentrations have nonlinear impacts on the physiology of reef-building corals The pollution of marine environments with plastics, particularly microplastic (MP, i.e., plastic particles <5 mm), is a major threat to marine biota, …

Proudly sharing the first lead author paper of our PhD student Vanessa Tirpitz. Check it out! (2025)

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Massive shoutout to the students involved in this study Vanessa, Elisabeth, and Luisa at #JLUGiessen. Your hard work has been the heartbeat of the study!
#TeamWorkMakesTheDreamWork

Why Does it Matter? 🌏 The species-specific responses highlight the complexity of microdebris impacts and the urgency to implement effective measures to mitigate major sources of pollution.

🧐Key Findings
- Fibers and tire wear had the strongest effects on coral physiology
- 📈 volume growth but 📉calcification
-📈photosynthetic efficiency in symbionts
- Single polymer had comparable, yet species-specific impacts
- Species-specific effects tied to feeding

🌊Equipped with pumps and filters, we created a dynamic water flow in our tanks where particles remained suspended in the water column throughout the entire 8-week experiment.

🔍 Objectives: 1. Assess effects on coral physiology. 2. Compare impacts of different microdebris and a single polymer treatment. 3. Identify species-specific responses by contrasting feeding reactions.

🧪Experimental Setup: Two coral species, Pocillopora verrucosa and Stylophora pistillata, were exposed to four microdebris types: [1] Plastic debris [2] Fibers from clothing [3] Tire wear, brake abrasion, varnish flakes and [4] Single polymer microplastics PE

Common types of microdebris affect the physiology of reef-building corals Marine debris, particularly microdebris (< 1 mm) poses a potential threat to marine life, including reef-building corals. While previous research has …

Stoked to share our latest study! We're exploring how #microdebris affects #reefbuilding #corals. Looking at major sources of #pollution gives us a more realistic view of how corals might respond in nature. Let's dive in! (2024)

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I believe this was the fiddliest study we have ever done, maneuvering the forceps holding µm-sized particles to miniature tentacles. Kudos to the many patient students involved, Niklas, Chieh, Mareike and Vanessa, in this amazing team effort!

But how will it be in the future? We can already see that some species, like Pocillopora verrucosa or Blastomussa merleti are more vulnerable due to their feeding behavior and morphology. Let’s not make it any harder for them and stop the increase of plastic in our oceans!

So, what can we take from this? We used the data to construct a species- and concentration-dependent toxicodynamic risk model to evaluate the potential threats of microplastic exposure. We find that most species seem resilient under current environmental microplastic levels.

But most importantly – not all coral species are alike and those generally feeding more also reacted more often to microplastics.

We also found that having a biofilm on the microplastic or food nearby increased the likelihood of the coral reacting to the particles, but not how often they ingested or egested it. Something to consider when studying feeding responses!

We found that corals are very good at detecting that sand is no food, but when it comes to microplastics, they were not so sure at first glance. But after some minutes of tasting the indigestible material, most of them decided to better not ingest it – clever corals!