The Effect of Reef-Safe and Non-Reef-Safe Sunscreen on the Mortality Rate of Artemia salina
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Environmental Science
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
The presence of UV filters in the oceans have had many negative effects on ocean life, including bioaccumulation, immobilization, and most commonly, coral bleaching. While standard sunscreens use all types of UV filters, reef-safe sunscreens are formulated without benzophenone-3, the most prevalent UV filter, but still contain other UV filters. More research needs to be done to determine if the effects of reef-safe and non-reef-safe sunscreen on ocean life is significant. This research was conducted using three groups of Artemia salina; one in a controlled environment, one with a solution of saltwater and reef-safe sunscreen, and the last with a solution of saltwater and non-reef-safe sunscreen. The concentration of sunscreens were made using 70 microliters per liter of salt water. The Artemia salina were kept for 4 days and at the end, the mortality rate was calculated for each group by dividing the number of A. salina that died by the original sample size. The descriptive statistics for the control, non-reef-safe, and reef-safe sunscreen groups include means of 15.75%, 61.25, and 63%, respectively. It was hypothesized that the mortality rate of the A. salina in the reef-safe and saltwater solution would be less than the mortality rate in the non-reef-safe sunscreen and saltwater solution because of the absence of benzophenone-3.These results were calculated using a one-way ANOVA with an alpha value of 0.05 to assess if there were differences in the means and a Tukey test was conducted to find where the differences lie. The results yielded that there was no significant difference in the mean mortality rates of the reef-safe and non-reef-safe groups, but there were significant differences in the mean mortality rates of the reef-safe group compared to the control group and the non-reef-safe group compared to the control group.
Recommended Citation
Dotson, Kathleen, "The Effect of Reef-Safe and Non-Reef-Safe Sunscreen on the Mortality Rate of Artemia salina" (2020). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 201.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2020/all/201
Location
Furman Hall 229
Start Date
3-28-2020 9:15 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
The Effect of Reef-Safe and Non-Reef-Safe Sunscreen on the Mortality Rate of Artemia salina
Furman Hall 229
The presence of UV filters in the oceans have had many negative effects on ocean life, including bioaccumulation, immobilization, and most commonly, coral bleaching. While standard sunscreens use all types of UV filters, reef-safe sunscreens are formulated without benzophenone-3, the most prevalent UV filter, but still contain other UV filters. More research needs to be done to determine if the effects of reef-safe and non-reef-safe sunscreen on ocean life is significant. This research was conducted using three groups of Artemia salina; one in a controlled environment, one with a solution of saltwater and reef-safe sunscreen, and the last with a solution of saltwater and non-reef-safe sunscreen. The concentration of sunscreens were made using 70 microliters per liter of salt water. The Artemia salina were kept for 4 days and at the end, the mortality rate was calculated for each group by dividing the number of A. salina that died by the original sample size. The descriptive statistics for the control, non-reef-safe, and reef-safe sunscreen groups include means of 15.75%, 61.25, and 63%, respectively. It was hypothesized that the mortality rate of the A. salina in the reef-safe and saltwater solution would be less than the mortality rate in the non-reef-safe sunscreen and saltwater solution because of the absence of benzophenone-3.These results were calculated using a one-way ANOVA with an alpha value of 0.05 to assess if there were differences in the means and a Tukey test was conducted to find where the differences lie. The results yielded that there was no significant difference in the mean mortality rates of the reef-safe and non-reef-safe groups, but there were significant differences in the mean mortality rates of the reef-safe group compared to the control group and the non-reef-safe group compared to the control group.
