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Heat resistant corals in the middle east

Hope for a better future for all corals

By Bradley Knight Published 3 years ago 3 min read
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Heat resistant corals in the middle east
Photo by Olga Tsai on Unsplash

Worldwide, coral reefs are in Jeopardy. With rising sea temperatures, which is a direct consequence of climate change, we're now witnessing mass bleaching events.

For those of you who don't know what coral bleaching is, its the loss of intracellular endosymbionts, either through the expulsion of loss of algal pigmentation. Which basically means that the polyps that are embodied in the calcium carbonate structure of the coral, are expelled from the structure, which is bad news for coral.

Coral reefs are biologically diverse, and act as food and protection for hundreds of reef fish and invertebrate species, so a decline in coral untimely results in the decline of economically important species, as well as invaluable species to the ecosystems. Species that us, humans, rely on for food and income are all in harm's way as a result.

Although corals look like plants, corals actually consist of tiny, soft-bodied creatures called polyps that cluster together in high numbers to form colonies. These polyps secrete limestone which forms the hard skeleton that we all see as coral. The relationship between microscopic algae that live within the coral is a beneficial relationship for both. The coral provides the algae with essential nutrients and a safe place to colonise, while the algae provide around 90% of the coral's food. However this relationship quickly breaks down when sea temperatures increase, this causes the density of the algae to drop, so then the coral 'Bleaches' and becomes paler in colour until it turns a bone white colour. Bleaching doesn't mean instant death, but the time frame to which corals can regenerate after bleaching has occurred is around 1 or 2 weeks if the temperatures don't drop the bleached corals will starve to death.

We've seen loses in the Great barrier reefs in 2014-2016, in some areas up to 29% of the 3,863 reefs that comprise the largest reef in the world were damaged due to bleaching. Loses in the Maldives and New England areas, as well as declines in Atlantic and Australasia areas, are all evidence of the problem our marine ecosystems now face.

There is good news, however. During this same period in which substantial amounts of damage was reported in reefs across the world, scientists found that corals in the Gulf of Aqaba, a narrow body of water at the northmost tip of the red sea, appeared healthy and even showed signs of increased growth.

In this one region, corals are withstanding the heat and in some controlled experiments conducted by marine biologists, are actually showing increased productivity once the temperature has been raised five degrees above the summer maximum of 27 degrees Celsius. Scientists have been drawn to this area in the hopes that genetic technology could be used to save dying coral reefs before we lose them forever. In most native habitats, corals start bleaching at one or two degrees Celsius above the maximum summer temperatures, but the corals in the secluded part of the red sea are sustaining function at 32 degrees Celsius. Scientists believe this is due to an ancient gene which corals evolved millions of years ago when the sea temperature was higher in the red sea. It is believed that current day corals in the red sea region still have this ancient ability to survive higher temperatures, which is why we're seeing healthy corals in the red sea.

On average, a global increase of five degrees Celsius in ocean temperatures is what is expected to be seen in the middle of the next century, if not sooner if we do nothing to reduce global gas emissions.

So if scientists could find a way to genetically modify corals to be able to withstand a five-degree rise in temperature, our coral's reefs could be set and safe and be able to continue being the worlds richest ecosystem for the next 100 years or so - or until new advances in technology could ensure long term reef security.

Check out this Documentary film:

If you want to know more about coral bleaching and how the fate of corals is tied to the existence of humans, I recommend logging on to your Netflix and typing 'Chasing Corals' into the search bar. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

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About the Creator

Bradley Knight

Grown on the British Isles, exploring beyond.

Marine Ecologist by trade, Scientific Illustrator and Communicator by hobby.

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