Most corals unable to adapt to warming oceans

Roxanne Khamsi New Scientist 13 Sep 06
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Three-quarters of the world's coral reefs may lack the ability to cope with climate change, despite previous optimistic predictions, according to a new review of coral research.

Earlier studies had demonstrated that some corals are able adapt to warmer water temperatures by forming new, additional symbiotic relationships with algae.

But a new analysis of more than 400 coral species suggests that only one-quarter of them would be able to adapt in this way.

These latest findings add to already bleak predictions for the world's coral reefs, which are also threatened by coastal pollution and acidifying oceans. Stressors such as these cause coral to lose the algae that keep it alive by supplying it with nutrients.

Even a 1 degree rise in temperature can cause the death of this fragile animal. Some experts have predicted that Australia's Great Barrier Reef will lose 95% of its living coral by 2050.