This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Tuesday, 12 April 2022
Sunscreen Lotions and Sea Grass
Mediterranean sea grass (Posidonia oceanica) is of great importance to a wide range of marine organisms (e.g. juvenile fish). The sea grass is also useful as it removes carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. In parts of the Mediterranean, however, the sea grasses are accumulating a range of UV filters from sunscreen lotions used by tourists (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/12/sunscreen-chemicals-accumulating-in-mediterranean-seagrass-finds-study). The Mediterranean sea grasses appear to be vulnerable to these chemicals, as they grow in shallow waters where lots of human activity takes place. The absorbed UV filters, affect the sea grasses' photosynthetic ability (UV is a wavelength of sunlight the plants use). This, in turn, impacts on sea grass productivity, which will obviously influence the whole ecosystem. It shouldn't, however, be too difficult to reduce the exposure of sea grasses to lotion pollution?
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