A new study has shown that selective breeding can lead to a modest rise in coral heat tolerance. Led by experts at Newcastle University's Coralassist Lab, the study documents the world's first effort to selectively breed adult corals for enhanced heat tolerance, i.e. the ability of adult corals to survive intense marine heat waves. The breeding effort was a success, showing that it is possible to improve the heat tolerance of adult coral offspring, even in a single generation. However, the improvement was modest in comparison to future marine heat waves expected under climate change. The authors stress that rapid reductions of global greenhouse gas emissions are an absolute requirement to mitigate warming and give corals an opportunity to adapt. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, was carried out in partnership with the University of Victoria, Horniman Museum and Gardens, Palau International Coral Reef Center, University of Derby, and the University of Exeter. The publication is the result of a five-year project which was launched by Dr. James Guest. "This work shows that selective breeding is feasible but not a silver bullet solution and that more research is needed to maximize breeding outcomes," says study lead author, Liam Lachs, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Newcastle University. He continues, reflecting that "in parallel, rapid reductions of global greenhouse gas emissions are an absolute requirement to mitigate warming and give corals an opportunity to adapt. Dr. Guest, Reader in Coral Reef Ecology at Newcastle University's School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, explains that "the results show that selective breeding could be a viable tool to improve population resilience. Yet, there are still many challenges that need to be overcome. "How many corals need to outplanted to benefit wild populations? Can we ensure there are no trade-offs (evidence so far suggests this is not a... |