Plastic tastes good to coral, and that is bad news

Coral does not simply encounter microplastic by accident. Research suggests it actively eats it.

Microplastic in the ocean is usually described as something marine life runs into. For coral, the picture appears to be worse: it seems to find plastic palatable, and eats it.

That changes the nature of the problem. A contaminant that is merely present can sometimes be tolerated; a contaminant that an animal actively consumes becomes part of its diet, and of its physiology.

It is also a reminder that reef restoration cannot be separated from what happens on land. Planting coral into water that is filling with plastic is treating the symptom while the cause continues.