It is no secret that the Earth’s temperature is rising. Along with the planet, the ocean has been dealing with these heat waves as well. Much of the wildlife in the ocean is being affected by these increasing heatwaves. Sharks are overheating, and coral reefs are starting to struggle. Now, scientists are discussing tactics that could help save the coral reefs from future heat waves.

Scientists Discuss How To Save Coral Reefs From Heat Waves

Phys.org discussed some of the findings of a new study on how to save the coral reefs. The study was published in Current Biology. It “explores whether host-assisted evolution could help them survive future heat waves.” It also explores “what it would take to achieve the required tolerance gains.”

Despite certain coral species showing signs of natural adaptation to rising temperatures, scientists argue that this is not something they expect to continue. Therefore, they are attempting to intervene to help save the coral reefs. The outlet shares that an international research team has created “a unique, pedigree-tracked coral population over the last eight years.”

This tracked population allows the team to “map family relationships and measure how multiple key traits — such as growth, reproduction, and survival — are inherited.” Using this collected data, scientists can determine which corals are most likely to survive heat waves. This information is crucial when deciding which coral species to attempt to save in the future.

When speaking about the study, Dr. James Guest — the principal investigator of the project supporting this study — had this to say. “Being able to produce corals from parental colonies with known histories and well-characterized traits- and then observe how this genetic information influences offspring performance – has significantly advanced our understanding of how assisted evolution can be effectively implemented to conserve coral reefs.”

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