Mechanisms of reef coral resistance to future climate change
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Material Information

Title:
Mechanisms of reef coral resistance to future climate change
Series Title:
Science Magazine Volume 344 Issue 6186
Creator:
Stephen R. Palumbi
Daniel J. Barshis
Nikki Traylor-Knowles
Rachael A. Bay
Affiliation:
Stanford University -- Department of Biology
Publisher:
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Publication Date:
Language:
English

Notes

Abstract:
Reef corals are highly sensitive to heat, yet populations resistant to climate change have recently been identified. To determine the mechanisms of temperature tolerance, we reciprocally transplanted corals between reef sites experiencing distinct temperature regimes and tested subsequent physiological and gene expression profiles. Local acclimatization and fixed effects, such as adaptation, contributed about equally to heat tolerance and are reflected in patterns of gene expression. In less than 2 years, acclimatization achieves the same heat tolerance that we would expect from strong natural selection over many generations for these long-lived organisms. Our results show both short-term acclimatory and longer-term adaptive acquisition of climate resistance. Adding these adaptive abilities to ecosystem models is likely to slow predictions of demise for coral reef ecosystems

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Source Institution:
Florida International University
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