Finally, some good news about the prospects of coral reefs in the age of climate change. According to a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society, corals may actually survive rising ocean temperatures in ‘tough love’ seas with wide-ranging temperatures.
Researchers discovered that coral reefs in sites with varying seasonal temperatures are more likely to survive the ‘hot pulses’ of Climate Change. Conversely, reefs living in environments with stable but higher temperatures are more susceptible to “bleaching,” a global phenomenon where beneficial algae are “evicted” by corals, ultimately leading to the reef’s demise.The study, which appears in the journal Ecological Monographs, presents the results of an 8-year study on the reefs of East Africa.

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