Corals in the Gulf of AqabaEPFL / ITAMAR GRINBERG As global temperatures rise, coral bleaching events, in which ocean temperature hikes cause corals to expel their algal symbionts, are happening again and again (reefs worldwide are in the midst of one). Symbiont loss deprives the corals of the pigments that give them both nutrients, via photosynthesis, and color.
Some corals, however, thrive in the warmer temperatures and decreased pH expected for ocean waters by century’s end, according to a study published yesterday (May 17) in Royal Society Open Science. Under these simulated warming conditions, samples of the reef-building coral Stylophora pistillata didn’t just survive; their symbionts gained pigments and produced more oxygen than under ambient conditions, indicating good photosynthetic health.
“Under this kind of scenario, you would expect a coral to bleach, and eventually die,” study author Thomas Krueger of Switzerland’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne told The Scientist. “We saw nothing of that; in fact, the corals seem to be doing fine.”
“This is a good sign,” C. Mark Eakin, coordinator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch program, ...
