Will corals adapt to climate change?

Although corals are among the organisms most threatened by rising ocean temperatures, some species may adapt better than others, according to a study published in PLoS ONE .
The phenomenon called "coral bleaching" occurs when, under conditions of environmental stress, the coral expels zooxanthella, a symbiotic algae that is responsible for producing nutrients through photosynthesis and which gives the coral its characteristic color. If stress persists, the coral can even die.
An international team of researchers analyzed what happened in three different coral populations during a massive bleaching event that occurred in 2010 as a result of high sea temperatures. While typical bleaching was observed in Indonesia, there were hardly any effects in the Malaysian and Singaporean populations. These areas had suffered severe bleaching in 1998, so scientists wonder if it is possible that the species have adapted to heat stress.
Although the results are encouraging, the researchers believe that we must not lower our guard and that the threat of climate change on coral reefs has not diminished. More research will be needed to find out what type of zooxanthellae it is that can adapt and study the phenomenon in the laboratory.