Abstract
Ultraviolet (UV) filters and preservatives, which are common constituents of sunscreens and other cosmetics, are reported as a threat for coastal coral reef ecosystems; however, few studies have assessed the effects of these compounds on coral health. This study presents the chronic effects (of measured, long-term and low concentrations) of some preservatives (ethylparaben, butylparaben), mineral UV filter (zinc oxide, ZnO) and organic UV filters (terephthalylidene dicamphor sulfonic acid, drometrizole trisiloxane, ethylhexyltriazone, butylmethoxydibenzoylmethane and 2-ethylhexyl 2-cyano-3,3-diphenylacrylate) on the maximal photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) of the symbionts associated with the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata. It first shows that for many organic filters, measured concentrations were significantly lower than nominal concentrations, due to the lipophilic nature of the compounds. In addition, the Fv/Fm was more sensitive to ZnO than all other sunscreen ingredients, with exposure to 90 µg L−1 ZnO for 35 d, reducing Fv/Fm by 38% compared with controls. The other UV filters tested showed no adverse effect on coral symbionts or animal tissue up to the concentration corresponding to their water solubility limit (and even above). Similarly, no adverse effect was observed in our conditions with the preservative ethylparaben, but the preservative butylparaben decreased the Fv/Fm by 25% at the highest concentration of 100 µg L−1. None of the sunscreen ingredients were as toxic to corals as the reference pollutants tributyltin, diuron and monuron, which significantly inhibited Fv/Fm at 10, 1 and 0.1 µg L−1, respectively. Overall, this study highlights the need to improve our knowledge on the in situ concentrations of UV filters and preservatives as well as their individual and combined effects on corals.
Highlights
Ultraviolet (UV) filters and preservatives, which are common constituents of sunscreens and other cosmetics, are reported as a threat for coastal coral reef ecosystems; few studies have assessed the effects of these compounds on coral health
This study presents the chronic effects of some preservatives, mineral UV filter and organic UV filters on the maximal photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) of the symbionts associated with the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata
Preservatives used in cosmetics such as parabens are continuously released at high levels into urban and hospital wastewaters (Aziza et al 2011; Haman et al 2015), while the reported concentrations of UV filters associated with sunscreens in marine waters are in the range of 1–100 ng L-1 (Langford and Thomas 2008; Tashiro and Kameda 2013; Bargar et al 2015; Downs et al 2016; Ma et al 2016; Sang and Leung 2016; Sharifan et al 2016) with maxima reaching concentrations of up to 10 lg L-1
Summary
Ultraviolet (UV) filters and preservatives, which are common constituents of sunscreens and other cosmetics, are reported as a threat for coastal coral reef ecosystems; few studies have assessed the effects of these compounds on coral health. Studies that test the chronic sublethal effects of a broad suite of sunscreen ingredients on coral are needed as this represents the scenario most likely to affect corals at the population level For this purpose, we tested the chronic effects of some UV filters and preservatives commonly found in sunscreens, on the photosynthetic efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) of symbionts of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata, as an early marker for photosystem stress leading to bleaching (Jones et al 1999). Herbicides monuron and diuron as well as the antifouling tributyltin are known to impact chlorophyll fluorescence (Jones 2005; Cantin et al 2007) and were used as references We studied both inorganic and organic UV filters, known to protect against UVB and UVA rays, including zinc oxide (ZnO), terephthalylidene dicamphor sulfonic acid ( called mexoryl SX), drometrizole trisiloxane (mexoryl XL), butylmethoxydibenzoylmethane (avobenzone), ethylhexyltriazone (uvinul T150) and 2-ethylhexyl 2-cyano-3, 3-diphenylacrylate (octocrylene). The first aim of the paper was to compare the chronic impacts of each of these common sunscreen ingredients on the coral’s photosynthetic efficiency; the second aim was to confirm (Ralph et al 2007, 2015) the utility of the Chl, a fluorescence technique as a rapid and effective tool for managers, regulators and industry to evaluate the numerous substances and mixtures released into sensitive coral reef environments
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