- WCS coral expert finds that some reefs were less sensitive to warming water over time
- Eleven species became less while one species became more sensitive to temperature change
- Study compares extremely warm years of 1998 and 2016
- Study appears in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series
NEW YORK (May 2, 2017) – A new WCS study reveals evidence that some corals are adapting to warming ocean waters – potentially good news in the face of recent reports of global coral die offs due to extreme warm temperatures in 2016. The study appears in the latest issue of Marine Ecology Progress Series.
The study looked at responses to extreme temperature exposures in the same reefs over time, and found less coral bleaching in 11 of the 21 coral species studied. WCS Senior Conservation Zoologist Tim McClanahan, who has been studying coral responses to climate change since the extreme temperatures of the1998 El Nino, authored the study.
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