How do Gulf corals beat the heat?

How do Gulf corals beat the heat?

So how do the corals and reef fish in Abu Dhabi's coastal waters survive? could it be that as coral larvae float into this region and settle into their new surroundings, they somehow switch on a genetic protective mechanism to handle the heat? The aim is to work out the molecular basis of the corals' acclimatization to hot water. The coral live in symbiosis with zooxanthellae, a type of algae that lives inside the coral's tissue. The algae photosynthesises producing sugars that provide up to 90 per cent of the coral's energy, and in return, the coral provides shelter, nutrients - mostly nitrogen and phosphorus - and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. At temperatures above 35C, the algae's photosynthesis goes into overdrive, producing oxygen radicals that damage the coral tissue. To protect itself, the coral essentially spits out the zooxanthellae. Those kinds of temperatures could become the norm as climate change sets in. By 2100, the world's oceans are expected to be an average of 2° to 3°C warmer than now. Not only that, the predicted rise in levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide would have its own corrosive effect.

Otherwise, the benefits of the reefs for the Gulf ecosystem could be lost forever. Still, the recovery of the corals so far gives cause for hope. If the corals here can survive without bleaching at temperatures higher even than those predicted elsewhere, perhaps the world's reefs have a chance.