Supercorals in the northern Red Sea could hold some secrets for reef survival in warming seas.

Coral reefs underpin the livelihoods of around a billion people worldwide, from providing food to attracting tourism to protecting coastlines from storms. But these ecosystems are increasingly threatened by more frequent and severe marine heatwaves. 

Prolonged sea temperature rises of just 1 degree Celsius above the summer average can cause coral bleaching and mass die-offs, and yet some reefs seem immune to this thermal threshold. “In the northern Red Sea, corals have not experienced any bleaching and remain healthy despite high heat stress,” says Eslam Osman from KAUST, “raising questions around how much these corals can resist global warming.”

Click here to read the full story. ​​

Image: Coral reefs across the globe are threatened by warming temperatures and increasing ocean acidity due to climate change.
© 2022 KAUST; Morgan Bennett Smith.