Can Coral Microbes Protect Reefs From Climate Change?

Ohio State researchers found that corals that were more resilient to harsh ocean conditions also had more healthier microbiomes. Microbes may therefore be essential for to keep corals healthy under stressful conditions.

Led by researcher Andréa Grottoli, the team exposed two different species of coral to the high temperatures and high levels of acidity expected by the end of the century. Normally, when a coral experiences these conditions, it takes drastic measures: the coral animal, which builds the calcium carbonate skeleton you see when you go snorkeling, ejects its partner, a symbiotic algae that helps the coral make food. This process is known as bleaching, as the algae takes the structure’s color with it when it departs, and it usually will kill the coral.

Yet one of the corals that Grotolli’s team examined was relatively unfazed by the warm and acidic conditions. When they looked at the microbes living in a mucus layer on its surface, they also found the species living there were almost the same as before the stressful experiment. Meanwhile, the other coral studied bleached, in response to the changing conditions, and the bacteria living on it decreased in number and in diversity.

However, Grottoli’s team isn’t yet sure if the change in the microbes are just a correlation, or if they might have a causative relationship with coral health.

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