Smothering effects by marine snow on coral reef organisms, Great Barrier Reef

A preliminary study on the effects of marine snow on organisms of the Great Barrier Reef was carried out experimentally in the laboratory.A 15 cm branch of Acropora sp. (from a coastal reef near Cairns) was cut into 20 pieces less than 1 cm and positioned in groups of four on slides and exposed to sedimentation in tanks with different water regimes: coastal water (contained some marine snow), offshore water (no marine snow detected), nearshore water (no marine snow detected). To test the short-term effects of deposition of TEP-enriched muddy marine snow and sediments on the survival of small reef associated organisms, by exposing them to sediments with and without TEP-enrichment.

本研究在实验室开展受控实验，初步探究海洋雪（marine snow）对大堡礁（Great Barrier Reef）生物的影响。实验选取采自凯恩斯（Cairns）附近沿岸礁体的15厘米长轴孔珊瑚属（Acropora sp.）分枝，将其切割为20块尺寸小于1厘米的片段，以每4片为一组放置于载玻片上，随后置于不同水文条件的水槽中开展沉积暴露实验：包含少量海洋雪的沿岸海水、未检出海洋雪的外海海水、未检出海洋雪的近岸海水。为探究富透明胞外聚合物（Transparent Exopolymer Particles，TEP）的泥质海洋雪与沉积物沉降对小型礁栖生物存活的短期影响，本实验将受试生物分别暴露于添加与未添加TEP的沉积物环境中。