Biodiversity Helps Coral Reefs Thrive and Could Be Used Strategically to Save Them

I am one of many scientists who are studying corals to find ways of helping them survive and recover. As a recent report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine shows, researchers are exploring many different strategies . Some, such as managed breeding to make corals more tolerant of stresses, are already being developed at small scales. Others, such as moving corals to colonize new areas, have not been tested yet. My own work examines whether greater diversity of coral species on reefs can help corals survive and thrive. In a study published earlier this year, my colleague Mark Hay and I found evidence that the answer is yes . This finding could help to inform broader strategies for making coral reefs more resilient in altered oceans . In Nature, More Is Better Are ecosystems healthier if they contain many species than if they harbor only a few? This is a central question in ecology. Generally, scientists have found that ecosystems with more diverse foundation species – those that define a system and are inseparable from it , such as trees in a forest – tend to be healthier and function better . Until recently, no one […]

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