Some corals adjusting to rising ocean temperatures

ScienceDaily, Stanford University, April 24, 2014

Stanford graduate student Rachael Bay takes samples from an Acropora
 hyacinthus colony at the National Park of American Samoa. (Credit:
Megan Morikawa)

Research led by Stanford scientist Steve Palumbi reveals how some corals can quickly switch on or off certain genes in order to survive in warmer-than-average tidal waters.

To most people, 86-degree Fahrenheit water is pleasant for bathing and swimming. To most sea creatures, however, it's deadly. As climate change heats up ocean temperatures, the future of species such as coral, which provides sustenance and livelihoods to a billion people, is threatened.

Through an innovative experiment, Stanford researchers led by biology Professor Steve Palumbi have shown that some corals can -- on the fly -- adjust their internal functions to tolerate hot water 50 times faster than they would adapt through evolutionary change alone. The findings, published April 24 in Science, open a new realm of possibility for understanding and conserving corals.

"The temperature of coral reefs is variable, so it stands to reason that corals should have some capacity to respond to different heat levels," said Palumbi, director of Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. "Our study shows they can, and it may help them in the future as the ocean warms."

Coral reefs are crucial sources of fisheries, aquaculture and storm protection. Overfishing and pollution, along with heat and increased acidity brought on by climate change, have wiped out half of the world's reef-building corals during the past 20 years. Even atemporary rise in temperature of a few degrees can kill corals across miles of reef.

American Samoa presents a unique case study in how corals might survive a world reshaped by climate change. Water temperatures in some shallow reefs there can reach 95 degrees Fahrenheit, enough to kill most corals. To find out how native corals survive the heat, researchers in Palumbi's lab transplanted colonies from a warm pool to a nearby cool pool and vice versa.

The researchers found that, over time, cool-pool corals transplanted to the hot pool became more heat-tolerant. Although these corals were only about half as heat-tolerant as corals that had been living in the hot pool all along, they quickly achieved the same heat tolerance that could be expected from evolution over many generations. Corals, like people, have adaptive genes that can be turned on or off when external conditions change. The corals Palumbi's group studied adjusted themselves by switching on or off certain genes, depending on the local temperature.

These findings make clear that some corals can stave off the effects of ocean warming through a double-decker combination of adaptation based on genetic makeup and physiological adjustment to local conditions.

"These results tell us that both nature and nurture play a role in deciding how heat-tolerant a coral colony is," Palumbi said. "Nurture, the effect of environment, can change heat tolerance much more quickly -- within the lifetime of one coral rather than over many generations."

Palumbi cautioned that corals' heat-adaptive characteristics do not provide a magic bullet to combat climate change. They can't respond to indefinite temperature increases and they could be compromised by stressors such as acidification and pollution.

Still, if it holds true for most corals, this adaptive ability could provide a "cushion" for survival and might give coral reefs a few extra decades of fighting back the harsh effects of climate change, Palumbi said.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Stanford University. The original article was written by Rob Jordan. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal Reference:

Stephen R. Palumbi, Daniel J. Barshis, Nikki Traylor-Knowles, and Rachael A. Bay. Mechanisms of Reef Coral Resistance to Future Climate Change. Science, 24 April 2014 DOI: 10.1126/science.1251336

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"....Let us just talk about the ocean for a moment. We won't even get to what's happening in the air and what mammals might experience. Let's just speak of the ocean. Have you heard about the salmon? What has your science warned you against? You're overfishing! The sea is dying. The coral is dying. The reefs are going away. You're not seeing the food chain that used to be there. You've overfished everything. Fishing quotas have been set up to help this. Oh, all those little people in the red room - they don't know about the purple. Red people only know about the red paradigm.

Did you hear about the salmon recently? There's too many of them! In the very place where quotas are in place so you won't overfish, they're jumping in the boats! Against all odds and any projections from environmentalists or biologists, they're overrunning the oceans in Alaska - way too many fish.

What does that tell you? Is it possible that Gaia takes care of itself? That's what it tells you! Perhaps this alignment is going to keep humanity fed. Did anybody think of this? What if Gaia is in alliance with you? What if the increase in consciousness that raised your DNA vibration has alerted Gaia to change the weather cycle and get ready to feed humanity? Are you looking at the ocean where the oil spill occurred? It's recovering in a way that was not predicted. What's happening?

The life cycle itself is being altered by the temperature change of the ocean and much of what you have believed is the paradigm of life in the sea is slowly changing. A new system of life is appearing, as it has before, and is upon you in your lifetime. It will compliment what you know and expose you to a new concept: Gaia regularly refreshes the life cycle on Earth. ...."