Others – 🥵 Coral N 🥵

Just as not all corals are the same, not all symbiotic algae are the same. Coral species have different relationships with various species of algae, some of which are more beneficial to the coral than others. Corals on the offshore reef seem to associate with one particular species of algae from the Indo-Pacific that was introduced to the Caribbean. While this algae may be more tolerant to warmer temperatures, as some parts of the Indo-Pacific can get warmer than the Caribbean, it’s possible that the algae-coral relationship may not be ideal because this particular algae species didn’t evolve with Caribbean corals.

When considering coral restoration, sanctuary managers need to understand how corals will respond to differing environments, and if certain corals will be more successful than others when outplanted. Keister hopes her research will shed light on some of those unknowns in a way that’s meaningful and keeps corals as part of the sanctuary’s story.

Some Like It Hot: Foster Scholar Elise Keister Investigates Why Some Coral Reefs Can’t Withstand Warmer Ocean Temperatures While Others Can

But assessments made from the field during the study-with data collected from 226 sites stretching from East Africa to Fiji-found that coral bleaching patterns did not neatly align with past predictors of excess temperature and distance from the equator. Instead, bleached corals were highly variable in terms of warm water temperatures and location, with some reefs suffering bleaching levels of up to 60 percent and others surviving with no impact.

Examining seawater temperatures 90 days before the bleaching, the researchers found that the best predictors of coral bleaching were highest average temperatures, how long cool water endured prior to peak temperatures, and the existence of two peaks in temperature. However, this depended on where the reefs were located, and East African reefs were found to be more stressed than reefs in Indonesia and Fiji. Thus, it was general stress rather than just warm water that affected corals the most, and some coral locations responded to stress better than others did.