Effects of sediment, nutrients, and snails on corals

Coral-eating snails (Coralliophila violacea) are more common on reefs with high nutrients. Researchers investigated if these snails could make Porites corals more vulnerable to land-based pollution from sediment and nutrient run-off. They found that sediment and snail predation both hurt corals, but these effects do not add together. In this study nutrients actually increase the number of small algae that live inside them called Symbiodiniaceae. These algae helped to reduce the negative effects of the snails or sedimentation.

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Rice et al. 2021