Oxybenzone — a chemical linked to coral bleaching — transforms from a UV-blocking agent into one that damages cells when exposed to light.
Credit: Georgette Douwma/Getty
Researchers have discovered that sea anemones, which are similar to corals, make the molecule oxybenzone water-soluble by tacking a sugar onto it. This inadvertently turns oxybenzone into a molecule that — instead of blocking UV light — is activated by sunlight to produce free radicals that can bleach and kill corals.
The researchers exposed anemones with and without the algae to oxybenzone in artificial seawater, and illuminated them with light — including the UV spectrum — that mimicked the 24-hour sunlight cycle. All the animals exposed to both the chemical and sunlight died within 17 days. But those exposed to sunlight without oxybenzone or to oxybenzone without UV light lived.
Corals that have been subject to environmental stressors such as changing temperatures often become bleached, losing their symbiotic algae. “If they’re weaker in this state, rising sea water temperature or ocean acidification might make them more susceptible to these local, anthropogenic contaminants,” Mitch says.It’s not clear how closely these laboratory-based studies mimic the reality of reef ecosystems.
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