how do soap suds harm the marine biome?

Question

They always say that soap suds are harmful to the marine biome. But how does it harm the biome? what is present in the soap that harms the biome?
please help...
thanks!

Answer 1

Soap suds are surfactants that change the way small particles behave in water. Many marine organisms eat by filter feeding - corals, sponges, bivalves, shrimp, zooplankton, barnacles, etc. When soap or other surfactants are added to water, it messes with the feeding mechanism of many filter feeders. Most filter feeders excrete a sticky mucus or protein to help collect food. Surfactants may either rinse of the sticky substance, or make it less sticky.

Soap and surfactants also cause a similar problem with fish. Most fish are covered with a slimy protein that protects the fish from fungus and bacteria. This slime layer can be rinsed off by surfactants, and the fish become diseased.

Many detergents contain phosphate, which acts as a fertilizer in the ocean. Too much phosphate causes blooms of algae that are sometimes toxic

Another thing that happens is that some surfactants have a chemical structure similar to estrogen. Estrogen affects all sorts of developmental pathways, and too much estrogen causes birth defects and improper development of internal organs. Juvenile fish (also amphibians, and marine mammals) have all sorts of problems if they mature in the presence of of surfactants that resemble estrogen.