Scleractinian corals, or hard corals, have been disappearing globally over the past four decades, a result of climate change, pollution, unsustainable coastal development and overfishing.
Scleractinian corals, or hard corals, have been disappearing globally over the past four decades, a result of climate change, pollution, unsustainable coastal development and overfishing. However, some Caribbean octocorals, or soft corals, are not meeting the same fate.
During a two-year survey of soft corals in the Florida Keys, Mary Alice Coffroth, professor emerita of geology at the University at Buffalo, along with a small team of UB researchers, identified three species of octocorals that have survived heat waves. While the coral animal itself may be heat tolerant, Coffroth said that her team concluded that the symbiotic algae inside the coral serve as a protector of sorts.
“The resistance and resilience of Caribbean octocorals offers clues for the future of coral reefs,” Coffroth said.
Read more at: University of Buffalo
Bleached octocorals and adjacent less/unbleached octocorals in September 2015 in Florida Keys. (Photo Credit: C.L. Lewis)
