Source: ScienceNetwork
March 3, 2012

"GLOBAL warming may have both positive and negative effects for coral reefs off the Western Australian coast, according to a new study.

Scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science found warmer seawater temperatures helped corals in some regions to grow, while those in other areas stopped growing or died due to extra-thermal stress.

The research team collected cores from Porites, a genus of stony coral, from six locations along the WA's northern and southern coast.

They then studied the growth layers in the cores to analyse their rate of growth and the amount of calcium carbonate skeleton they were accumulating.

They discovered that Porites in the west coast of southern WA-where water temperatures are cooler compared to other sites-had increased in growth rate as a result of warming waters."

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