Kaohsiung: A study published recently by scientists at National Sun Yat-sen University has shown how microplastic pollution is altering the structure of coral skeletons, putting them at greater risk of being damaged or dissolving.According to Focus Taiwan, the study, led by Department of Chemistry Chair Hsieh Shu-chen and Chen Chen-tung, chair professor for research in the Department of Oceanography, was published last month in the journal Environmental Chemistry Letters, the university said in a press release Monday. Summarizing the study's results, Hsieh said it showed how microplastic pollution directly drives the degradation of coral reefs and the diverse ecosystems they support.An increasing number of coral reefs, particularly those in polluted environments, are likely to face such degradation in the future unless stronger measures are taken to mitigate plastic pollution, Hsieh said. In the team's study, the team cultivated the coral species Briareum violacea and exposed it to polyethylene microplas tics at concentrations of 0, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 300 milligrams per liter for seven days.Following the exposure, they measured the changes in the coral's skeletal structure, solubility, and the levels of calcium in the seawater, the university said. The researchers found that of the two calcium carbonate crystal structures found in healthy coral -- calcite and aragonite -- exposure to microplastics caused the structure of calcite to weaken significantly.As calcite crystals gradually disappeared from the coral, they were replaced by a much more unstable crystalline form, known as amorphous calcium carbonate, the university said. According to the team, these changes harmed the structural integrity of the coral, causing it to degrade more easily, while also raising the calcium ion concentration in the surrounding seawater.