Researcher discovers rare ocean phenomenon serving as unlikely ally to reefs: 'Could offer a blueprint'
Marine scientist Dr. Catherine Kim documented Pyrosoma atlanticum — pyrosomes, a strange sea creature made up of a colony of tiny plankton — moving in swarms along the northern Australian coast, where coral can actively feed on them.
She published the study in the journal Ecology to share a mechanism that could make coral reefs more resistant to climate change.
Dr. Kim studied the Coral Triangle within the young nation of Timor-Leste, a Southeast Asia/Pacific biodiversity hot spot. She found that corals can be more opportunistic than vulnerable and digest large plankton when given the opportunity.
She observed a pyrosome bloom driven by a major ocean current transporting large amounts of water through the Indonesian seas from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian. This flow provides extensive water movement to regulate water temperatures and deliver cooler waters filled with nutrients during critical coral growth times.
"Timor-Leste's reefs could offer a blueprint for coral resilience in a warming world," Dr. Kim said. This research finding is encouraging because it offers hope for coral reefs struggling because of our extreme weather patterns and our steadily warming planet.
Coral reefs face many environmental challenges because of the prevalence of microplastics and the impacts of human drilling for dirty energy sources.
Fortunately, many scientists have been studying the issues affecting our world's coral reefs and finding ways to save future coral populations. Satellite mapping, for example, can be useful for monitoring coral reefs and protecting these fragile marine ecosystems.
From this Australian study, scientists can gain a better understanding of how ocean currents and food availability create coral reef refuges. High-energy prey help offset the stress coral reefs face in order to survive and grow faster with more efficient photosynthesis.
Observing these effects can help researchers identify which reefs have more readily available food and which need more attention because of poor resilience.
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You can take local action to protect coral reefs where you live by learning about what human activities impact them and sharing what you learn with people you know.
Coral reefs are part of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet and support more species than anything else. Beyond their ecological balance benefits, they hold the promise of developing drugs to treat human diseases and protecting coastlines from storms and floods caused by increasingly extreme weather events.
The study's author concluded her report by recommending additional research in this field by stating: "Identifying and managing localized reef refugia includes determining whether these upwelling areas provide more food for corals, all of which is fundamental to understanding how to sustain reefs in the future."
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