Natural selection could determine whether Acropora corals persist under expected climate change
Coral reefs are highly vulnerable to heat stress, but modeling of Acropora corals suggests some adaptive potential under certain climate scenarios. Still, rapid cuts to greenhouse gas emissions remain essential to give reefs the best chance of survival.
Subject Tags
- Reefs
- Climate impacts
- Biodiversity
Abstract
Marine heatwaves are intensifying under climate change, exposing populations of reef-building corals to mass mortality and intense selective pressure. It remains unknown whether adaptation can keep pace with warming and maintain reef functioning. We have developed an eco-evolutionary metapopulation model for Acropora, an ecologically important yet thermally sensitive coral taxon. We found that, although corals have some adaptation capacity, they will suffer severe heatwave-induced declines over the coming decades. For a future in which emissions lead to ~3°C of global warming, natural selection could allow populations to persist, albeit in severely depleted states with elevated extinction risk and potential loss of ecosystem functioning. Yet, for thermally sensitive coral populations to thrive beyond 2050, there must be rapid reductions of greenhouse gas emissions that limit global warming to 2°C.
Citation
Lachs, L., Bozec, Y.M., Bythell, J.C., Donner, S.D., East, H.K., Edwards, A.J., Golbuu, Y., Gouezo, M., Guest, J.R., Humanes, A. and Riginos, C., 2024. Natural selection could determine whether Acropora corals persist under expected climate change. Science, 386(6727), pp.1289-1294. DOI: 10.1126/science.adl6480
TNC Authors
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Yimnang Golbuu
Director of Conservation, Micronesia and Polynesia
The Nature Conservancy
Phone: Phone
Email: yimnang.golbuu@tnc.org