Corals roll with the punches

Date:
September 7, 2021
Source:
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
Summary:
Corals may be able to cope with climate change in the coming
decades better than previously thought -- but will still struggle
with rapidly intensifying rates of climate change.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
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.

"In particular, corals that are better than average at survival, growth
and resisting bleaching stress under future ocean conditions should
be good at passing those advantages on to their offspring." However,
while the study is good news, the authors warn that making the most of
this capacity for adaptation will require reducing the current rate of
global warming.



========================================================================== "Though temperature increases don't appear to influence the ability of
corals to pass on adaptive traits, the damage that we are already seeing
to coral reefs from climate change tells us that the current rates of
change are too fast for coral adaptation to keep up," said co-author
Associate Professor Mia Hoogenboom, also from Coral CoE at JCU.

"Climate change is rapidly intensifying across the globe," said
co-author Professor Sean Connolly from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. He said if climate change is too fast then there isn't
sufficient time for evolution to generate new variations to cope with
even more stressful conditions.

"Adapting to change means a species can persist in an altered environment
for longer," Professor Connolly said. "But as new conditions arise,
evolution needs time to generate new variation in coral traits, such
as temperature tolerance, which can then spread in the population if
they are beneficial." "So, if we can curb climate change, and stabilise temperatures, many coral species will have a shot at adapting to warmer temperatures." The study is a synthesis of 95 trait measurements across
19 species of reef- building corals.

"The fossil record tells us that times of rapid environmental
change are a major challenge to life, and can lead to very high
rates of extinction," Mr Bairos-Novak said. "This is a challenge
faced by all living organisms during such times." "However, our
findings show that corals are fighters. They are good at passing
beneficial traits onto the next generation and the next -- helping
them cope with the stresses they face." "And this is what may help
them navigate the next few decades better than we previously thought." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by ARC_Centre_of_Excellence_for_Coral_Reef_Studies. Note: Content may be
edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Kevin R. Bairos‐Novak, Mia O. Hoogenboom, Madeleine
J. H. Oppen,
Sean R. Connolly. Coral adaptation to climate change:
Meta‐analysis reveals high heritability across multiple
traits. Global Change Biology, 2021; DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15829 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210907110200.htm

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