The significance of pollution in eliciting the ''bleaching'' response in symbiotic cnidarians

摘要: The loss of pigmentation, or "bleaching", in tropical reef organisms such as corals and symbiotic sea anemones has been extensively reported around the world over last 15 years. widespread bleaching generally associated with seawater warming; increased surface temperatures irradiance both play a part eliciting response. At same time, it is recognised that generalised stress response cnidarians, being elicited also by exposure to pollutants heavy metals, oil, pesticides sedimentation. However, occurrences field are extremely limited. Such events, unlike warming-induced bleaching, usually localised. Nevertheless, there exists possibility warming pollutant discharges may act additively synergistically produce severe bleaching. Recovery coral communities following bleaching-induced mortality affected pollution, which either delay (or halt) recovery and/or cause shift species dominance so branching become replaced more physically rigorous massive corals, resultant ecosystem biodiversity. As response, much offer development toxicological bioassays. Measurements algal loss, division rates alterations synchronous patterns selected hosts sensitive tools for assessment effects pollutants, some cases have shown greater resolution than molecular assays.