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Researchers out of the United Kingdom have successfully managed to breed heat-resistant corals in a novel study working to help protect coral reefs from worsening marine heat waves globally.

The project was conducted by Newcastle University’s Coralassist Lab under the direction of the lab’s primary investigator Dr. James Guest with funding from the European Research Council.

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Over the course of several years, the team selectively bred coral colonies with high tolerance levels to heat, meaning the corals that are less negatively impacted by above-average temperatures, and colonies with low tolerance levels to heat.

Once the new generation of corals reached adulthood, heat stress tests were conducted on coral fragments to determine how the corals from high-heat-tolerant parents respond to heat compared to those from low-heat-tolerant corals.

The new generation of corals bred from high heat-tolerant parents was able to withstand abnormally high temperatures better than those from low heat-tolerant parents.

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The new generation of heat-resistant corals can now be better equipped to handle marine heat waves and resist coral bleaching events.

Adriana Humanes, a research associate with the Coralassist Lab, explains that one of the surprising and exciting findings from this study is that a detectable change was able to be produced in just one generation.

This is important because corals such as the Acropora digitifera used in this study take three to four years to reach maturity. If significant changes like the ones found in this study took, say, 10 generations of selective breeding to be detected, it would take 30 to 40 years of work to see any effects.

Ecosystems At Risk From Climate Change

Coral reefs are incredibly important ecosystems, acting as protectors of coastal communities from flooding and storms, as primary sources of protein for hundreds of millions of people worldwide and as drivers of tourism.

Unfortunately, corals across the planet are at significant risk from climate change and ocean heating due to coral bleaching.

“Corals are really one of the ecosystems most at risk of climate change, where marine waves can trigger these mass coral bleaching and mortality events,” explains Liam Lachs, a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the Coralassist Lab.

(MORE: Super-Marine Heat Waves: A New Concern)

Coral bleaching events and marine heat waves, which are usually defined as ocean temperatures warmer than 90% of prior observations for that time of year, are becoming more common due to climate change.

For that reason, any and all steps we can take to help our reefs survive the hotter conditions are important.

Looking Forward

The study was conducted on a small scale, and more research is needed to upscale the process and develop ways for different kinds of communities to implement selective breeding in their local reefs.

It’s important to note, however, that this is not a magic cure-all for our planet’s reefs.

Selective breeding is a relatively small-scale solution to a large-scale problem.

“If we don't do anything reducing carbon emissions or if carbon emissions are even going into a worst-case scenario with ramping up of fossil fuel in the coming decades, then ocean warming seems to outpace the potential benefits that we could get from these types of interventions,” warns Lachs.

Sara Tonks is a content meteorologist with weather.com and has a bachelor's and a master's degree from Georgia Tech in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences along with a master's degree from Unity Environmental University in Marine Science.