Using naturally occurring climate resilient corals to construct bleaching-resistant nurseries.

ABSTRACT: Ecological restoration of forests, meadows, reefs, or other foundational ecosystems during climate change depends on the discovery and use of individuals able to withstand future conditions. For coral reefs, climate-tolerant corals might not remain tolerant in different environments because of widespread environmental adjustment of coral physiology and symbionts. Here, we test if parent corals retain their heat tolerance in nursery settings, if simple proxies predict successful colonies, and if heat-tolerant corals suffer lower growth or survival in normal settings. Before the 2015 natural bleaching event in American Samoa, we set out 800 coral fragments from 80 colonies of four species selected by prior tests to have a range of intraspecific natural heat tolerance. After the event, nurser

SUBMITTER: Morikawa MK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6535031 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature