2-minute read

When it comes to providing big planetary benefits, of all the amazing creatures under the sea, corals are at the top of the dynamic doer list. Over half a billion people globally depend on the income-providing, food-provisioning, coastline-protecting sculptural animals for their daily existence. Maintaining the healthy functioning of corals is critical to people, wildlife, and the planet, but the underwater inhabitants are literally in hot water. Since the 1950s, global coral cover has halved, and on the current trajectory, by 2035, 75% of corals could be at risk.

As a case in point, according to NOAA scientists, right now, corals in every major ocean basin in the northern and southern hemispheres are experiencing a heat-stress-driven major bleaching event. Marine heat waves like the extreme event in Florida in 2023 are starting earlier, lasting longer, and occurring more frequently.

Helping Corals Take the Heat
As the world races against the clock to lower emissions and combat climate change impacts, dedicated marine scientists and conservationists are developing what they hope will be life-saving strategies that will enable corals to survive rapidly warming waters. Because corals propagated in nurseries and transplanted into reefs can also fall victim to bleaching due to record-setting heat waves, the innovative scientists at the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program in Australia are training corals to tolerate the heat through a process known as assisted evolution.

When corals are exposed to high water temperatures, they expel the symbiotic algae known as zooxanthellae that they need to survive, turning a dreaded ghostly white. To give corals a fighting chance, the Australian scientists are training lab-grown algae to adapt to the heat and stay put inside stressed corals as waters warm.

And how do they do it? For the past decade, researchers have been growing coral symbionts in a lab and slowly turning up water temperatures, increasing the algae’s resilience to rapid environmental change. The lab-grown algae can now tolerate constant water temperatures of almost 90 ℉, far higher than what is typical for the Great Barrier Reef. The newly evolved zooxanthellae will soon be transplanted into the reef to see how they fare during fluctuating warming cycles in the wild.

With emissions continuing to rise and millions of humans and marine species globally depending on the survival of reefs, repairing ecosystems by helping corals adjust to planetary warming is urgent. By training coral symbionts to remain where nature intended as water temperatures rise, leading-edge researchers are increasing the odds that the undersea world will continue to thrive in living color.

ICYMI Nature News

Spiny Lobsters Aren’t Giving Up Either
Scientists at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have discovered that spiny lobsters deter snails and worms from snacking on already distressed corals through—wait for it—frequent urination. Snails and worms love to eat coral, but they hate to be eaten by spiny lobsters. Where there is plentiful lobster urine, there are hungry lobsters. Apparently, the presence of the crustaceans’ body fluid in the water helps to protect corals from predators.

The Complexity of Ele-Chat
Biologists studying elephants’ communications in Zimbabwe have discovered that much like humans, the iconic African animals change their communication style depending on how well they know the elephant they are greeting.

Wildlife Walk This Way Please
There is long-awaited good news for California wildlife! The world’s largest wildlife crossing is currently under construction and expected to open in Los Angeles in early 2026. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will span 10-lane Highway 101, reconnecting the Santa Monica Mountains with the Simi Hills to provide all manner of native creatures, including bobcats, coyotes, and mule deer, with unobstructed access to a larger natural ecosystem. Read all about the lifesaving project here.

Clever Counting Crows
According to University of Washington researchers, not only can crows count, but they can also count out loud, cawing to signify numbers in response to visual and auditory clues. “One caw, two caw, three caw, four caw…”.

The Secret Language of Sperm Whales
If you need further proof of creature cleverness, scientists working on deciphering the communication of sperm whales believe the marine mammals’ vocal clicks aren’t just random signals but represent a complicated call-and-respond alphabet. Can you hear me now?

How Sea Otters Avoid the Dentist
Ask any sea otter: crunching on mollusk shells every day can wreak havoc on the pearly whites. According to marine scientists studying foraging behavior in sea mammals, otters that rely more often on tools to access prey not only expand their menu options but protect their teeth from damage, which increases their longevity. But do they floss?

Diversity in Nature is Better for You
We’ve written often about nature being good for you. According to a new study, the more diverse the nature, the better it is for you. In addition to biological diversity, keeping the natural world in good working order, the greater the variety of trees, plants, and wildlife in your environment, the greater the improvement in mental well-being. Another good reason to go wild.