Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies

Coral reefs cover less than one percent of the ocean floor yet support roughly a quarter of all marine species, making their decline one of the most consequential ecological shifts of the current century. Researchers studying these ecosystems track how rising water temperatures trigger bleaching—the breakdown of the relationship between corals and the symbiotic dinoflagellates that provide their energy—while simultaneously investigating how ocean acidification erodes the calcium carbonate structures reefs depend on. A central open question is why some reef systems prove more resilient than others, with ongoing work examining the roles of the coral microbiome, nutrient pollution, and population connectivity in buffering or amplifying stress responses. Determining how marine reserves can be designed and positioned to preserve that resilience, even under continued warming, remains one of the field's most urgent practical challenges.

Works

106,950

Total citations

2,047,111

Keywords

Coral ReefsClimate ChangeMarine EcosystemsOcean AcidificationBleachingMarine Reserves