Excess nutrients, coupled with climate change, damage the most highly resilient corals

(Bar-Ilan University) Experimentalists conducted a simulation of future conditions in the Red Sea caused by global warming and acidification, while simultaneously increasing levels of nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate. They found that when nitrate and phosphate were added, the coral thermal resilience was compromised while algal growth benefited from excess CO2 and nutrients. Algal dominance over corals in the reef means losing all of the beauty and biodiversity of the coral reefs.

Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - May 23, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: news