With the decline of coral reefs well-documented, there is now evidence of heat tolerance being conferred in a common reef-building coral. This finding is helping scientists to understand if, and how, corals may be adapting naturally to rising ocean temperatures driven by global warming.

An international team has demonstrated that heritable genetic variation for heat tolerance is more widespread than previously thought in the reef-building coral Platygyra daedalea. The pressure of more regular marine heatwaves appears to be enhancing the selection of gene variants to help the coral to withstand higher temperatures.

“We urgently need to understand whether corals can adapt quickly enough to keep pace with climate change and, if so, how they might do this,” says Manuel Aranda from KAUST, who led the project alongside Emily Howells from Southern Cross University in Australia. “This knowledge is essential to guide conservation strategies and prioritize interventions in coral reefs while there is still time to act.”

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