Reef Rescue

If oceans continue to warm at the current pace, Coral Reefs could be wiped out by century's end. But scientists from around the globe are rushing to help corals adapt to changing climate through assisted evolution. Follow scientists as they attempt to crossbreed heat-resistant corals, and even transplant corals' algae, in a race to save the Coral Reefs from extinction.

On tropical reefs around the globe, scientists are in a race against time to engineer heat-resistant "super corals," and now their work is being put to the test. Coral Reefs have been described as the cathedrals of the ocean, but beyond their beauty, they are home to over a quarter of all marine life and are crucial for ocean health and human survival. But as climate change is warming oceans at an alarming rate, the planet's reefs could be lost by the end of the century. To counteract this catastrophe, scientists from the Bahamas to Hawai?i to Australia are unlocking the secrets of millions of years of coral evolution—and trying to speed it up, with a technique they call assisted evolution. Led by the visionary Coral Reef biologist Ruth Gates, they investigate whether crossbreeding seemingly more-resilient corals with one another will produce heat-resistant offspring. Or perhaps an algae transplant will give dying corals a second chance at survival. Can they train corals—like athletes—to be more resilient? From living laboratories beneath the waves, to high-tech aerial surveys, to precisely controlled laboratory experimentation, this band of international scientists has come together with one determined purpose: find a way to save the coral.

Upplagd i sortimentet: 28 juli, 2021