{"id":1473,"date":"2020-10-19T12:42:53","date_gmt":"2020-10-19T12:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=1473"},"modified":"2020-10-19T12:42:53","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T12:42:53","slug":"understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/","title":{"rendered":"Understudied deeper water reefs could teach us how to better conserve corals"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

In three decades of diving at locations including the Red Sea and Great Barrier Reef, Gal Eyal has seen coral reefs transform in front of his eyes.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

\u2018The change is tremendous,\u2019 said Dr Eyal, a marine ecologist at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and the University of Queensland in Australia. \u2018I was at the Great Barrier Reef for the first time in 2004 … When you dive down and see this coral bleaching, it\u2019s crazy. You see all the reef that you used to see colourful and full of fish all bleached and white \u2026 and it\u2019s like a graveyard.\u2019<\/p>\n

A major environmental puzzle in recent years has been how to mitigate the devastating impact that climate change, pollution and other human effects are having on coral reefs \u2013 with huge losses already, and alarming forecasts that\u00a070% to 90% of existing reefs may die<\/a>\u00a0in the next 20 years.<\/p>\n

Rather than focusing only on traditional clear-water shallow reefs down to about 30 metres, some researchers are looking at habitats in both deeper and turbid waters \u2013 environments where corals still depend on light to support photosynthesis by the algal partners they need to sustain them, but at a lower level.<\/p>\n

An expanding body of evidence suggests such areas could be key to reseeding degraded reefs in future, as well as being crucial ecosystems for ocean health.<\/p>\n

Mesophotic<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reefs known as mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) are found 30 to 150 metres down in tropical and subtropical regions, but have often been missed in studies between exploration of much more accessible shallow corals and the deeper sea.<\/p>\n

This is despite these ecosystems containing massive reef structures, with some studies estimating that MCEs make up\u00a0half or more of reef area worldwide<\/a>. Earlier research has also suggested they bleach less than shallow corals, living in habitats with lower natural fluctuations or influence from human impacts.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Mesophotic<\/a>\u00a0project, which Dr Eyal leads, is looking at these habitats to build a base for understanding not just about their immediate outlook, but their prospects for the coming hundreds or even thousands of years.<\/p>\n

\u2018We know very little about these reefs, and we don\u2019t really know what the effects of thermal stress, pollution and competition between species are on them,\u2019 he said. \u2018If people don\u2019t look at the reef as a whole, from shallow to deep, they miss a lot.\u2019<\/p>\n

In an examination of almost 100 mesophotic coral species off the city of Eilat at the northern tip of the Red Sea, Dr Eyal says his team was surprised to discover just how many species lived in both habitats, with around two-thirds of the known species in the region\u2019s shallow reefs also appearing in the mesophotic zone.<\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n

\u2018If you look only at the shallow reef, you don\u2019t look at the big picture but only the tip of the iceberg.\u2019<\/p>\n

Dr Eyal, Bar-Ilan University, Israel<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

This suggests significant transfer of reproductive propagules – parts of the coral that break off and become new corals – between the two habitats. It also supports the hypothesis that deeper reefs could act as a refuge and a source for repopulating their shallower counterparts through natural reseeding after catastrophic events such as widespread bleaching or pollution.<\/p>\n

Indeed, when the researchers transplanted fragments of the mesophotic coral\u00a0Euphyllia paradivisa<\/em>\u00a0from a depth of 50 metres to five metres,\u00a0survival rates were high after three years<\/a>\u00a0and there was evidence that the corals had acclimatised to the higher light levels \u2013 though Dr Eyal cautions about the results because only adults were transplanted rather than larvae or juveniles.<\/p>\n

In addition, they found species that were rare at shallow depths but flourished in mesophotic waters, including\u00a0E. paradivisa<\/em>, which some environmental bodies\u00a0had considered threatened<\/a>\u00a0in certain areas of the world.\u00a0Leptoseris glabra<\/em>, originally thought scarce due to its rarity on shallow reefs,\u00a0appeared to be the most abundant species<\/a>\u00a0in the northern Gulf of Eilat, being widespread at mesophotic depths.<\/p>\n

Such findings may support improved targeting of species for conservation efforts on both mesophotic and shallow reefs, as well as inform decisions on marine protected areas and educate the public about whole reef ecosystems, says Dr Eyal.<\/p>\n

\u2018In the mesophotic zone there is huge species diversity, and a mixture of generalist species and mesophotic specialists,\u2019 he said. \u2018If you look only at the shallow reef, you don\u2019t look at the big picture but only the tip of the iceberg. You need to look at all the iceberg to verify where to act to protect the whole environment.\u2019<\/p>\n

To aid researchers globally, the team has developed an\u00a0online application<\/a>\u00a0that allows users to enter light-related data to approximate shifts in community structure at different depths, which Dr Eyal says seems so far to translate well to other areas of the world.<\/p>\n

Over time<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mesophotic is also looking at how coral communities have changed over time by taking cores from reef sediments to investigate whether species common in the mesophotic zone previously migrated from the shallows when environmental conditions altered.<\/p>\n

\u2018We are trying to verify if these past events can tell us something about what will happen in the future,\u2019 said Dr Eyal.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Mesophotic
Mesophotic reefs could provide a natural refuge for shallower-water corals in times of stress. Image credit – Gal Eyal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Due to the challenge of taking cores at such depths with the currently available equipment, the results are so far limited to the last couple of hundred years and highly localised, but he said there is evidence of such transitions before. Meanwhile, photos he is comparing from the past 40 years suggest mesophotic reefs have changed little in the very recent past.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But though these reefs appear to show promise as refugia and are historically considered stable, Dr Eyal says his own research has suggested that anthropogenic disturbances such as pollution may\u00a0have a bigger impact on MCEs<\/a>\u00a0than shallow reefs due to them being adapted to a more predictable environment.<\/p>\n

The complexity created by hugely varying reef environments means there is much research still to do. \u2018You have huge differences in conditions \u2026 and it\u2019s not only between different reefs around the world, it\u2019s in each reef environment,\u2019 said Dr Eyal.<\/p>\n

Other researchers are looking at turbid reef environments found at shallow depths and characterised by high levels of terrestrial runoff. Many of these are found in the Coral Triangle, an area roughly spanning the waters off Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea in the west Pacific.<\/p>\n

The area is home to the world\u2019s most diverse reef habitat, containing\u00a075% of known coral species<\/a>. It is also close to many huge populations that depend on the reefs for sustenance, providing an ideal study site for ongoing anthropogenic change.<\/p>\n

Evolved<\/strong><\/p>\n

From previous analysis of the fossil record, a project called\u00a04D-REEF<\/a>, which is studying these systems, hypothesises that coral reefs probably originally evolved in murky waters and that those in such environments may be better placed to handle disturbances in the ocean.<\/p>\n

In addition, earlier research by the team and others suggests there is less bleaching on turbid reefs due to lower exposure to light stress, and that they may recover faster from disruptions, says Dr Willem Renema, project lead and a marine biodiversity researcher at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

\u2018The idea we\u2019re exploring here is that maybe those high-light environments in what we see as the most typical coral reefs you can imagine are geologically (over large timescales) atypical,\u2019 he said. \u2018We have a knowledge gap in these turbid water reefs because few people have been really studying them in high intensity.\u2019<\/p>\n

A year in, most of the work has comprised reviews of research and method development, with the pandemic causing delays in getting out to the reefs themselves. Dr Renema hopes dives can begin next March or April.<\/p>\n

A large part of 4D-REEF involves analysing fossils collected already to investigate what coral habitats previously looked like and how they dealt with environmental change.<\/p>\n

The researchers are homing in on the Pliocene epoch between 5.3 and 2.6 million years ago \u2013\u00a0a period during which warming conditions are often used to provide an analogue for climate change today \u2013 and the current Holocene epoch prior to significant anthropogenic impact.<\/p>\n

This may also help elucidate founder species that gave rise to reefs in the past, potentially giving ideas on which to use for future rehabilitation projects, says Dr Renema, though there are no real results from these studies yet.<\/p>\n

\u2018(We\u2019re looking at) what are the dynamics in these ecosystems? Can we model their response to changing sea level, changing temperatures and so on?\u2019<\/p>\n

For Dr Renema, studying different coral environments \u2013 from those at mesophotic depths to those in turbid waters \u2013 is crucial to getting a proper handle on how best to protect the whole reef environment.<\/p>\n

\u2018You cannot say we only look at the five-metre depth line and then you understand what coral reefs are,\u2019 he said. \u2018We have to understand the entire system.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\"The
The depth beyond 100 metres is not to scale. Image credit – Horizon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Studying corals that live\u00a0in deep water, where less light penetrates, could reveal\u00a0ways of reseeding degraded shallow-water coral reefs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.<\/em><\/p>\n

Published by Horizon<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In three decades of diving at locations including the Red Sea and Great Barrier Reef, Gal Eyal has seen coral reefs transform in front of his eyes. \u2018The change is tremendous,\u2019 said Dr Eyal, a marine ecologist at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and the University of Queensland in Australia. \u2018I was at the Great Barrier … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":1474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-energy-environment"],"yoast_head":"\nUnderstudied deeper water reefs could teach us how to better conserve corals - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Understudied deeper water reefs could teach us how to better conserve corals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In three decades of diving at locations including the Red Sea and Great Barrier Reef, Gal Eyal has seen coral reefs transform in front of his eyes. \u2018The change is tremendous,\u2019 said Dr Eyal, a marine ecologist at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and the University of Queensland in Australia. \u2018I was at the Great Barrier ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Horizon Magazine Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/horizon.magazine.eu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-19T12:42:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/10\/Header-SM-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Horizon Magazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/HorizonMagEU\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Horizon Magazine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1473\\\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1473\\\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8f23522ba58f477f04dd574e1034f679\"},\"headline\":\"Understudied deeper water reefs could teach us how to better conserve corals\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-19T12:42:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1473\\\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1569,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1473\\\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/Header-SM-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Earth, Energy & Environment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2020\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1473\\\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1473\\\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\\\/\",\"name\":\"Understudied deeper water reefs could teach us how to better conserve corals - Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1473\\\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1473\\\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/Header-SM-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-19T12:42:53+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1473\\\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1473\\\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1473\\\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/Header-SM-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/Header-SM-1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Mesophotic coral ecosystems, found 30-150m below the sea in tropical and subtropical regions, could make up half of all reefs worldwide but there is little known about them.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1473\\\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Understudied deeper water reefs could teach us how to better conserve corals\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"description\":\"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"width\":601,\"height\":283,\"caption\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8f23522ba58f477f04dd574e1034f679\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Horizon Magazine\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/horizon.magazine.eu\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/https:\\\/\\\/twitter.com\\\/HorizonMagEU\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/author\\\/horizonmagazine\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Understudied deeper water reefs could teach us how to better conserve corals - Horizon Magazine Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Understudied deeper water reefs could teach us how to better conserve corals","og_description":"In three decades of diving at locations including the Red Sea and Great Barrier Reef, Gal Eyal has seen coral reefs transform in front of his eyes. \u2018The change is tremendous,\u2019 said Dr Eyal, a marine ecologist at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and the University of Queensland in Australia. \u2018I was at the Great Barrier ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/","og_site_name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/horizon.magazine.eu","article_published_time":"2020-10-19T12:42:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/10\/Header-SM-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Horizon Magazine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/HorizonMagEU","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Horizon Magazine","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/"},"author":{"name":"Horizon Magazine","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/8f23522ba58f477f04dd574e1034f679"},"headline":"Understudied deeper water reefs could teach us how to better conserve corals","datePublished":"2020-10-19T12:42:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/"},"wordCount":1569,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/10\/Header-SM-1.jpg","articleSection":["Earth, Energy & Environment"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2020","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/","name":"Understudied deeper water reefs could teach us how to better conserve corals - Horizon Magazine Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/10\/Header-SM-1.jpg","datePublished":"2020-10-19T12:42:53+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/10\/Header-SM-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/10\/Header-SM-1.jpg","width":1200,"height":900,"caption":"Mesophotic coral ecosystems, found 30-150m below the sea in tropical and subtropical regions, could make up half of all reefs worldwide but there is little known about them."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1473\/understudied-deeper-water-reefs-could-teach-us-how-to-better-conserve-corals\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Understudied deeper water reefs could teach us how to better conserve corals"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","description":"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","width":601,"height":283,"caption":"Horizon Magazine Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/8f23522ba58f477f04dd574e1034f679","name":"Horizon Magazine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Horizon Magazine"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/horizon.magazine.eu","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/HorizonMagEU"],"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/author\/horizonmagazine\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/10\/Header-SM-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgtNKV-nL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1090,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1090\/matchmaking-corals-from-different-colonies-could-reduce-bleaching-events\/","url_meta":{"origin":1473,"position":0},"title":"Matchmaking corals from different colonies could reduce bleaching events","author":"Catherine Collins","date":"December 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Breeding together corals that have naturally high heat tolerance and planting them on coral reefs could increase the reefs\u2019 resilience to climate change and reduce the impact of bleaching events, according to Dr James Guest, a coral reef ecologist from Newcastle University, UK. He is studying this \u2018assisted evolution\u2019 approach\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Planting baby corals that are bred to be resistant to heat stress can boost a reef's tolerance to warmer waters. Image credit - James Guest","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/12\/Palau-reefs-3_James-Guest-sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/12\/Palau-reefs-3_James-Guest-sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/12\/Palau-reefs-3_James-Guest-sm.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/12\/Palau-reefs-3_James-Guest-sm.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2427,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2427\/rushing-to-save-coral-reefs-from-global-warming\/","url_meta":{"origin":1473,"position":1},"title":"Rushing to save coral reefs from global warming","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"July 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Greater understanding of how corals reproduce and react to climate change will bolster conservation and restoration. By\u00a0\u00a0JACK MCGOVAN Dr N\u00faria Viladrich of Spain was forced by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 to cancel a planned visit to the US Virgin Islands, where white-sand beaches and rum-coconut cocktails weren\u2019t the main\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/07\/11.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/07\/11.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/07\/11.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/07\/11.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1709,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1709\/impossible-to-adapt-surprisingly-fast-ice-melts-in-past-raise-fears-about-sea-level-rise\/","url_meta":{"origin":1473,"position":2},"title":"\u2018Impossible to adapt\u2019: Surprisingly fast ice-melts in past raise fears about sea level rise","author":"Aisling Irwin","date":"April 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Studies of ancient beaches and fossilised coral reefs suggest sea levels have the potential to rise far more quickly than models currently predict, according to geologists who have been studying past periods of warming. At one point in a comparable period they were rising at three metres per century, or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/04\/dan-meyers-loa7A85vsBI-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/04\/dan-meyers-loa7A85vsBI-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/04\/dan-meyers-loa7A85vsBI-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/04\/dan-meyers-loa7A85vsBI-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/04\/dan-meyers-loa7A85vsBI-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/04\/dan-meyers-loa7A85vsBI-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1532,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1532\/twenty-surprising-scientific-facts-we-learned-in-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":1473,"position":3},"title":"Twenty surprising scientific facts we learned in 2020","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"December 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"From corals bunkering down in deeper waters to wait out climate change stress, to how vaccines can boost our immune system beyond a specific disease \u2013 here are the 20 most surprising scientific facts that we discovered this year.\u00a0 Read: Five things you need to know about bats, disease and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Brain & Behavior"","block_context":{"text":"Brain & Behavior","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/brain-behavior\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/vlad-kutepov-yLSKobI0XYA-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/vlad-kutepov-yLSKobI0XYA-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/vlad-kutepov-yLSKobI0XYA-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/vlad-kutepov-yLSKobI0XYA-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/vlad-kutepov-yLSKobI0XYA-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/vlad-kutepov-yLSKobI0XYA-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1145,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1145\/qa-to-protect-the-atlantic-we-first-need-to-understand-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":1473,"position":4},"title":"Q&A: To protect the Atlantic, we first need to understand it","author":"Joanna Roberts","date":"February 6, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Atlantic Ocean is under threat from fishing, fossil fuel extraction and deep-sea mining, and the onus should be on these industries to prove that their exploitation is sustainable rather than requiring scientists to come up with reasons to protect it, says Professor J Murray Roberts, a marine biologist at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The open ocean is outside national jurisdictions so researchers are working internationally to understand the health of the ecosystem and how to protect it. Image credit - Pxfuel\/licensed under CC0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/02\/Dolphin-sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/02\/Dolphin-sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/02\/Dolphin-sm.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/02\/Dolphin-sm.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":389,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/389\/could-symbiotic-microbes-help-ecosystems-survive-global-warming\/","url_meta":{"origin":1473,"position":5},"title":"Could symbiotic microbes help ecosystems survive global warming?","author":"Steve Gillman","date":"July 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Studies of the relationships between microbes and the organisms they live on are revealing how plants and animals could adapt to climate change. With the world facing a global warming somewhere between\u00a01 and 5.5 degrees Celsius, organisms that have evolved to thrive in specific environments need to adapt or they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Symbiotic bacteria might have helped coffee plants adapt to climate change in the past.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/coffeeplant.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/coffeeplant.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/coffeeplant.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/coffeeplant.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/coffeeplant.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/coffeeplant.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}