Occurrence, bioaccumulation and ecological risk of organic ultraviolet absorbers in multiple coastal and offshore coral communities of the South China Sea

Jiying Pei; Junjie Hu; Ruijie Zhang; Nai Liu; Wenfeng Yu; Annan Yan; Minwei Han; Huanxin Liu; Xueyong Huang; Kefu Yu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161611

Occurrence, bioaccumulation and ecological risk of organic ultraviolet absorbers in multiple coastal and offshore coral communities of the South China Sea

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Apr 10:868:161611. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161611. Epub 2023 Jan 14.

Authors

Jiying Pei¹, Junjie Hu², Ruijie Zhang³, Nai Liu², Wenfeng Yu⁴, Annan Yan², Minwei Han⁵, Huanxin Liu², Xueyong Huang⁶, Kefu Yu⁷

Affiliations

¹ Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Coral Reef Research Center of China, School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China. Electronic address: pjying@gxu.edu.cn.
² Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Coral Reef Research Center of China, School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
³ Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Coral Reef Research Center of China, School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519080, China. Electronic address: rjzhang@gxu.edu.cn.
⁴ Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Coral Reef Research Center of China, School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China. Electronic address: 1910010119@st.gxu.edu.cn.
⁵ Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Coral Reef Research Center of China, School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China. Electronic address: 1727301003@st.gxu.edu.cn.
⁶ Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Coral Reef Research Center of China, School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China. Electronic address: huangxueyong@gxu.edu.cn.
⁷ Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Coral Reef Research Center of China, School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519080, China. Electronic address: kefuyu@scsio.ac.cn.

PMID: 36646224
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161611

Abstract

The occurrence of organic ultraviolet absorbers (OUVAs) in coral reef regions has aroused widespread concern. This study focused on the occurrence, distribution, bioaccumulation and ecological risk of ten OUVAs in both coastal and offshore coral reef regions in the South China Sea. While the Σ₁₀OUVAs was 85 % lower in the offshore seawater (15.1 ng/L) than in the coastal seawater (102.1 ng/L), the Σ₁₀OUVAs was 21 % lower in the offshore corals (1.82 μg/g dry weight (dw)) than in the coastal corals (2.31 μg/g dw). This difference was speculated to relate to the high intensity of human activities in the coastal regions. Moreover, the offshore corals showed higher bioaccumulative capability toward OUVAs (log bioaccumulation factors (BAFs): 1.22-5.07) than the coastal corals (log BAFs: 0.17-4.38), which was presumably the influence of varied physiological status under different environmental conditions. The results of the ecological risk assessment showed that BP-3 resulted in 73 % of coastal corals and 20 % of offshore corals at a risk of bleaching. Therefore, the usage and discharge of BP-3 should be managed and controlled by the countries adjacent to the South China Sea for the protection of coral reefs.

Keywords: Bioaccumulation; Coral reef; Ecological risk; Organic ultraviolet absorber; South China Sea.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anthozoa* / physiology
Bioaccumulation
China
Coral Reefs
Humans
Seawater