A new study suggests corals may be able to cope with climate change in the coming decades better than previously thought—but will still struggle with ever-faster rates of climate change.
A new study suggests corals may be able to cope with climate change in the coming decades better than previously thought—but will still struggle with ever-faster rates of climate change.
Lead author Kevin Bairos-Novak is a PhD candidate at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University (Coral CoE at JCU). He said the rate at which corals can adapt to climate change depends on what is passed down from their parents.
“We looked at all previous coral studies examining what is called ‘heritability’ and this allowed us to look at how parent corals’ survival under environmental stress is likely to be passed down, through genes, to their offspring,” Mr Bairos-Novak said.
“We found their ability to pass on adaptive traits is maintained despite increasing temperatures,” he said.
Read more at: Arc Centre of Excellence Coral Reef Studies
Corals that are better than average at survival, growth and resisting bleaching stress can pass these advantages on to their offspring. (Photo Credit: Andrew Baird)
