Papa Bear,
Why do you hate Al Gore so much? I have read on numerous threads where you accuse anyone who believes in global warming of being a liberal or Al Gore lover. You also went on in one thread to attack Barak Obama! There are plenty of political threads all over the internet, if you want to bash the democratic presidential candidates go to one of those. Yes Papa Bear I like Al Gore. Yes Papa Bear I have read his research on global warming and seen his film. Guess what I even saw him speak in person! He won the Nobel Peace Prize!
As for this study, I am a lifelong marine aquarist and longtime reef aquarist. I have written/write for several publications that cover the reef aquarium hobby. I have researched, on the home aquarium front, coral prorogation through sexual means and by fragging. I have researched coral health and how coral responds to different stimulus. I have worked with aquarium retailers and aqua culture farms as an adviser many, many times.
If you tie a plastic bag around just about any species of coral (soft, stony, sps or lps) you will kill it. Corals, when stressed emit a thick mucous that can remove sand particles and other debris from the coral's flesh. If this mucous does not get removed or whisked away by current it will in turn smother the coral having a rebound effect. All corals emit mucous when stressed and soft corals shed a mucous layer several times per month as they get larger. IMO the corals where smothered by their own defensive mucous before a lack of sunlight killed the zoxeanthelle algae in their tissues.
That said non-biodegradable sun block would most certainly kill corals. Depending on the coral species it could be terribly fatal. Euphyllia corals (a LPS stony coral) are very hardy yet very susceptible to infection from contamination. They have large fleshy polyps and once infection begins it can easily spread throughout the coral. Elegance coral ( a species of Euphyilla coral) can get a bacterial infection if just touched by a person. The oil and bacteria in human hands infects the coral and can kill a large and impressive colony.
In the reef aquarium hobby we recommend the use of water tight protective gloves when working in the aquarium. Perfume, deodorant, even body wash can all cause disastrous effects on not just corals but many other invertebrates as well. The only thing safe to use when cleaning reef aquarium equipment is hydrogen peroxide since it is 100% water soluble.
Sea horses, mollusks (especially cephalopods like octopus), sea cucumbers, and any soft bodied invertebrate are hyper sensitive to chemicals found in sun screen. So funny Al Gore science or no funny Al Gore science when you wear non-biodegradable sun screen you risk damaging the coral reef.
