{"id":37128,"date":"2022-09-05T08:00:32","date_gmt":"2022-09-05T12:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=37128"},"modified":"2025-10-07T10:03:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T14:03:29","slug":"coral-resilience-determining-the-fate-of-coral-in-a-changing-climate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/coral-resilience-determining-the-fate-of-coral-in-a-changing-climate.htm","title":{"rendered":"Coral Resilience: Determining the Fate of Coral in a Changing Climate"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret that the Great Barrier Reef is dying, as are many beautiful reefs created by coral all over the world. Excessive heat and ocean acidification<\/a> have taken their toll. But Andr\u00e9a Grottoli, distinguished professor of earth sciences at The Ohio State University, President of the International Coral Reef Society, Director of the Coral Bleaching Research Coordination Network, and a Fulbright Fellow, believes that all is not lost. Grottoli has found that the fate of coral is tied to one characteristic: its resilience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn my 20s, I decided I wanted to work on a problem to improve the world,\u201d she recalls. Since coral support so many other marine species and ultimately humans too, she felt like coral resilience was just the kind of important problem she wanted to spend her life working on. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to work on coral resilience from a problem-solving perspective, trying to understand why some corals are resilient, and seeing how we can help coral resilience,\u201d she says. \u201cIn the short term, it looks like there is still a lot we can do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Coral Diversity<\/span><\/h3>\n

Grottoli\u2019s work encompasses all sorts of corals: plating, mounding, and branching corals. Grottoli and her team have also studied corals from all over the world, including Hawaii, Panama, Mexico, Guam, the Pacific, the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean. <\/span><\/p>\n

Field measurements include dissolved oxygen, buoyant weight, respiration, and how much zooplankton the corals can consume. Lab measurements include chlorophyll and coral lipids. <\/span><\/p>\n

YSI sensors<\/a> are used for the oxygen measurements, a microscope and known concentrations of brine shrimp are used for the zooplankton consumption measurements, and a spectrophotometer<\/a> is used for the chlorophyll. Coral lipids information is extracted using organic chemistry.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the major goals of Grottoli\u2019s<\/span> coral resilience study<\/span><\/a> is to answer the question: can corals acclimatize? Can they adapt to the changes the environment is expected to undergo in the near and far future? In order to find out, Grottoli conducted a two-year Hawaiian study that exposed corals to end-of-century conditions. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the study, coral experienced elevated temperature and also elevated temperature along with lower pH. The acclimatization study did not include the effects of overfishing. All experiments were conducted with reef water. Reef water was heated and\/or acidified to produce the desired treatment conditions. In the study, many coral died, but many survived.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Measuring

Measuring photosynthesis in Porites compressa in Hawaii using a YSI O2 probe in a submerged plexiglass chamber (Credit: Andr\u00e9a Grottoli)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThere is clearly resilience,\u201d said Grottoli. \u201cOf the three species we tested, <\/span>Montipora capitata<\/span><\/i> had the worst survival rate, but <\/span>Porites compressa<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Porites lobata<\/span><\/i> seemed to survive and thrive even in the more severe conditions. It\u2019s also possible that <\/span>M. capitata<\/span><\/i> may have had better survivorship had we provided them with more zooplankton.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

While coral can usually rely on both algae symbionts that use photosynthesis to make food and also zooplankton, under conditions of severe stress, the symbionts are ejected, leaving zooplankton as the only food source.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a related effort, a fall 2022 project by Grottoli involves enhancing resilience on a coral reef by building underwater lights by the reef that attract zooplankton, which would increase coral feeding, even under conditions of stress, hopefully enhancing coral resilience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adding underwater lights to reef environments is just one approach to enhancing coral resilience. \u201cCurrent trends in coral resilience research include selective breeding\u2014taking corals that are resilient to heat stress, for example, and producing \u2018super offspring,\u2019 says Grottoli. \u201cAnother trend is gene manipulation, namely coral genes that enhance resilience. Yet another technique is moving corals to better areas so they can recover.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/span><\/h3>\n

Grottoli hopes that the impacts of climate change will be mitigated. Climate change mitigation would help corals the most. Locally, stopping overfishing and addressing pollution would also help retain the most reef.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is some reason for optimism,\u201d says Grottoli. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect 50% of the coral in my study to survive. Model predictions said 10-30% would survive. This still means we\u2019ve lost a lot of coral since 1850, which was the start of the warming trend since the Industrial Revolution. We had a much higher abundance back then. Oceans are still becoming warmer and acidifying<\/a> at the same time. But I think we can still help the coral we have left.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, the International Coral Reef Society has a<\/span> list<\/span><\/a> of 12 things everyone can do to help.<\/span><\/p>\n

In closing, Grottoli suggests reducing local stressors and mitigating global climate change would help coral the most, though restoration and conservation are also helpful. \u201cCoral resilience is out there,\u201d she emphasizes, \u201cand we must harness it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recent research suggests that some coral may be able to survive and thrive despite climate change, especially with some human assistance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":37237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7,8,44],"tags":[157,2344,2423,1892,176],"class_list":["post-37128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aquatic_species-htm","category-news","category-newsfeed","category-oceans-coasts","tag-climate-change","tag-coral-reef","tag-coral-resilience","tag-the-ohio-state-university","tag-top-story"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"\nCoral Resilience: Determining the Fate of Coral in a Changing Climate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Recent research suggests that some coral may be able to survive and thrive despite climate change, especially with 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