EILAT, Israel — As the outlook for coral reefs across a warming planet grows grimmer, scientists in Israel have discovered a rare glimmer of hope: The corals of the northern Red Sea may survive, and even thrive, into the next century. Experts hope the lessons learned in the Red Sea can help coral reefs elsewhere in the world. Fine’s research credits northern Red Sea coral resilience to a giant natural selection event that occurred some 18,000 years ago. Today, these hardy corals continue to survive as Red Sea waters warm, only showing signs of heat stress at six degrees above the summer maximum sea temperature. “If you lose reefs, you lose everything that depends on them,” said Michael Webster, executive director of Coral Reef Alliance, a San Francisco conservation group.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer February 20, 2019 07:18 UTC