Corals Adapt to Global Warming

Chuck1318 writes "Articles in Nature and New Scientist indicate that corals are more adaptable to global warming than previously thought. Large areas of coral reefs had been devastated by bleaching due to the loss of the coral animals' algae partner, which is sensitive to changes in water temperature. Some scientists had projected that coral reefs would all be gone in 20 to 30 years. Now it is found that a more heat-resistant strain of algae is able to colonize the bleached coral, returning them to life."

Comments

Re:Once again...

[MammaMia]

Exactly what I thought... however, at the end of the article they have this to say:

"Corals are still threatened by factors such as water pollution and damage caused by fishing. But most of these factors are easier to reverse than climate change, Baker points out, especially if conservation efforts are spurred on by the idea that corals are not doomed by global warming.

"We may have more time than we thought to put policies in place," he says. "But this argues for us really getting on top of the factors that we can control."

So, there is still a lot we can do to protect the ones that are surviving, rather than force them to try and adapt to further damage.