{"id":8036,"date":"2024-11-14T06:09:19","date_gmt":"2024-11-14T14:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coral.org\/?p=8036"},"modified":"2026-01-20T20:15:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T04:15:05","slug":"assessing-coral-reefs-through-adaptation-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coral.org\/en\/blog\/assessing-coral-reefs-through-adaptation-science\/","title":{"rendered":"Assessing Coral Reefs through Adaptation Science"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Coral reefs are powerful yet vulnerable ecosystems, rich in biodiversity but increasingly at risk in a changing world. Here at the Coral Reef Alliance, our team advances science to assess the adaptive capacity of corals, protect diverse reef networks, and restore marine ecosystems by influencing management and policy decisions. Our research shows coral reefs can adapt to climate change, but this requires the establishment of large, diverse, and well-connected reef networks.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through scientific research, we work to understand how coral reefs can adapt in the face of climate change. We then translate our findings into data-driven solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why We Assess<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Coral reefs support coastal communities, act as natural barriers against storm surges, and are critical to marine biodiversity. However, they are severely threatened by pollution, unsustainable fishing, and climate change. In fact, almost all coral reefs could be lost by 2050 if current trends continue.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CORAL recognizes that climate change is a profound challenge for reefs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be key to their survival.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, though climate change is a global problem, strategic local protection is still critical to maximizing the probability of coral reef survival and recovery. Through actionable science, we strive to understand how to make this possible and provide tools to enable climate-smart reef protection across the globe.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Valentina Cucchiaria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Our Science<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over almost a decade of scientific research, CORAL and its partners have shown that protecting connected networks of genetically diverse reefs is critical to ensuring their survival and recovery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genetic variation is the fuel of evolution.<\/strong> Organisms with genes that are best adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, sending their unique genetic code on to the next generation. This process is known as natural selection. Over multiple generations of natural selection, species can evolve, displaying new traits and characteristics. And the more genetically diverse a population of organisms is, the more likely some of those individuals will be able to adapt to whatever circumstances arise. It\u2019s this idea that is essential to coral reefs surviving the heat stress created by climate change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Valentina Cucchiara<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Through simulating coral reef survival under different climate scenarios, we\u2019ve shown that genetically diverse coral reef networks are much more likely to survive warming waters than their less diverse counterparts. Our research has also found that genetic connections between coral reefs (e.g. via currents that carry coral larvae) are crucial to their prospects because genetic exchange, especially from reefs that are already adapted to high temperatures, can enhance the odds of resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These findings present us with a few key implications for how we can help corals survive warming oceans. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, we must reduce carbon emissions and slow the rate of climate change to give corals a fighting chance. Second, we must protect a diversity of reefs that are themselves genetically diverse. Doing so increases the odds that heat-adapted individuals will be present and naturally selected. Third, we can\u2019t just protect individual patches of reef; we must ensure that reefs are protected in connected networks to allow the exchange of genes. And finally, we must pay particular attention to the presence of hot reefs in these networks, which should allow heat-adapted larvae to spread to other reefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From Science to Action<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the importance of genetic variation in coral reef resilience, approaches to reef management often fail to account for evolutionary criteria. This is because assessing coral reef genetic diversity is costly and requires expertise that many practitioners do not have available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CORAL is working closely with partners to evaluate whether we can estimate coral reef genetic diversity and adaptive capacity from remotely sensed data. As we develop adequate proxies, we can then scale these up, creating a globally applicable tool, which we\u2019re aiming to launch in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Collected field data from Roatan & Utila + collected genetic samples<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Making this information easily and freely accessible worldwide would catalyze its incorporation into coral reef management and marine spatial planning processes as part of countries\u2019 30×30 commitments. Our Global Conservation Science team\u2019s goal is to influence and leverage partners, fieldwork, and technology to drive adaptation-focused conservation solutions that will rescue coral reefs from the effects of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate REEFS<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, CORAL proudly expanded its conservation efforts into the Coral Triangle, a vital marine region spanning six countries\u2014Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste.<\/strong> This biodiversity hotspot is home to 76% of the world\u2019s coral species and supports the livelihoods of millions through fishing, tourism, and coastal protection services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Climate REEFS: Ecological & genetic surveys, SE Sulawesi
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As part of the Climate REEFS initiative (Integrating Risks, Evolution, and socio-Economics for Fisheries Sustainability)\u2014a multi-million dollar collaboration of partners in the USA, UK, Indonesia, and the Philippines\u2014CORAL is working to develop techniques to identify adaptive reefs using remote sensing technologies. The ultimate goal of this effort is to develop a freely available, online tool that can identify genetically diverse reefs across the globe. In-country Climate REEFS partners hope to work with relevant government bodies in Indonesia and the Philippines to co-create revised provincial and national-level marine management plans that reflect our findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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