Could heat-tolerant algae save coral reefs from climate change?
Scientists have ‘trained’ microalgae to tolerate higher sea temperatures
Scientists have developed heat-developed algae in a breakthrough that could help save endangered coral reeds.
The development has been revealed just months after Australia saw its third mass bleaching event in five years, amid record-high ocean temperatures at the Great Barrier Reef, as The Guardian reported at the time.
Coral bleaching occurs when rising sea temperatures cause corals to expel the colourful Symbiodiniaceae microalgae that live in their tissues and supply them with nutrients. As the algae is expelled, the corals lose their colour and starve to death.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But scientists at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have discovered that coral reefs could survive if the heat tolerance of their resident algae was raised, reports New Scientist.
Researchers from the national science agency and the University of Melbourne heated Symbiodiniaceae algae to 31°C in a laboratory for four years to train the organism to tolerate higher water temperatures. Over time, the algae evolved genetic changes that mean it could have greater heat resistance.
The researchers then took coral larvae from the Great Barrier Reef and mixed it with either standard algae or the heat-resistant algae before heating both blends to 31°C for one week. The coral with the “non-trained” algae quickly bleached, but the coral with the heat-resistant algae remained healthy.
Madeleine van Oppen of Melbourne University told The Times: “We found that the heat tolerant microalgae are better at photosynthesis and improve the heat response of the coral animal.
“These exciting findings show that the microalgae and the coral are in direct communication with each other. We’re putting all our efforts into this now in case we need it to have it ready as an intervention in the future.”
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sorcha Bradley is a writer at The Week and a regular on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. She worked at The Week magazine for a year and a half before taking up her current role with the digital team, where she mostly covers UK current affairs and politics. Before joining The Week, Sorcha worked at slow-news start-up Tortoise Media. She has also written for Sky News, The Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard and Grazia magazine, among other publications. She has a master’s in newspaper journalism from City, University of London, where she specialised in political journalism.
-
John Swinney: the SNP's ultimate 'safe pair of hands'
Why Everyone's Talking About Former leader – 'a serious person for serious times' – is frontrunner to replace Humza Yousaf
By The Week UK Published
-
Chechnya in jeopardy: what would death of Ramzan Kadyrov mean for Putin?
Today's Big Question Strongman leader is 'terminally ill', stoking fears of armed conflict in the North Caucasus
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
Summer Lee, the Pennsylvania 'squad' member who beat back a primary challenge
In the Spotlight Lee is the first Black woman ever elected to Congress from the Keystone State
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Costa Rica's renewable energy success could be under threat
Under the radar Central American nation generates nearly all its electricity from renewable sources but climate change is bringing huge challenges
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is cloud seeding and did it cause Dubai's severe rainfall?
The Explainer The future is flooded
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Ottawa climate talks: can global plastic problem be solved?
In the spotlight Nations aim to draft world's first treaty on plastic pollution, but resistance from oil- and gas-producing countries could limit scope
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is rock flour and how can it help to fight climate change?
The Explainer Glacier dust to the rescue
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The growing thirst for camel milk
Under the radar Climate change and health-conscious consumers are pushing demand for nutrient-rich product – and the growth of industrialised farming
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why curbing methane emissions is tricky in fight against climate change
The Explainer Tackling the second most significant contributor to global warming could have an immediate impact
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
How the EU undermines its climate goals with animal farming subsidies
Under the radar Bloc's agricultural policy incentivises carbon-intensive animal farming over growing crops, despite aims to be carbon-neutral
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published