A new study developed by researchers at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Queensland (Australia) puts on the table that the future of the world’s coral reefs is walking a tightrope. Specifically, the work has analyzed the vulnerability and conservation value of the subtropical reefs south of the Great Barrier Reef – considered a refuge for climate change.
According to expert Brigitte Sommer, studying the reefs of Eastern Australia has revealed that coral species would likely shift their distribution southward in response to climate change. “In the subtropical to temperate transition zone south of the Great Barrier Reef, corals are at the limits of their distribution and environmental tolerances, as the water is colder. There is less light and conditions are more seasonal and variables than in the Great Barrier Reef “, clarifies Sommer.
The researchers examined 17 reefs in total from the Sunshine Coast, an Australian urban area located in the southeastern state of Queensland, on the Pacific Ocean coast, to Port Stephens in New South Wales (Australia).
“We seek to investigate the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape the biodiversity patterns of corals in their southern limits. We also examine the evolution of the characteristics of coral species to determine whether they were stable over time,” explain the researchers. authors.
According to experts, it is extremely important to carry out this type of study to understand the stability of the environmental tolerances of the species in order to more accurately predict the variations of the species and the ecological responses to climate change.
“For example, if the environmental tolerance is stable over time and does not change, then the corals will probably only expand to areas where the environmental conditions are similar to where they are today. And the corals will probably have less ability to adapt to the new conditions. environmental, “says Sommer.
In light of the results, the coral species that occur on these subtropical and temperate reefs south of the Great Barrier Reef are more closely related to each other and have more similar characteristics than the coral species that occur on the Great Barrier Reef. Coral.
“This suggests that environmental tolerance is important for the persistence of corals in these marginal environments and that species with inadequate traits cannot persist in these cooler and lighter environments,” Sommer says. This suggests that the patterns of coral biodiversity in this area are shaped by a combination of regional and local processes.
Species that were unable to persist in these colder and darker conditions were initially excluded from the region and the remaining species were divided into local sites, depending on whether species interactions or environmental conditions were more important locally.
Referencia: Brigitte Sommer et al. Local and regional controls of phylogenetic structure at the high-latitude range limits of corals, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2017). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0915
