clhs sciblog

Right now, corals’ interesting systems of communications are being stressed by the global change. They are only able to survive because of their symbiotic relationships with algae that live within them. These disruptions are the cause of coral bleaching and collapse of coral reef ecosystems everywhere. Virginia Weis, a zoologist at Oregon State, says that they’ve known the general functioning of corals and all of the problems they are facing because of the climate changes. But lately, they know a lot less about the fundamental biology, genome structure and internal communication of corals. Only when they really understand how their physiology works will they know if corals will be able to adapt to climate changes or if people will be able to help. Corals are not really self-sufficient. They have highly productive algae in their bodies that can “fix” carbon, using the energy of the sun to conduct photosynthesis and produce sugars for the corals to use for energy. The algae, in return, gain nitrogen by feeding off the waste from the coral. Scientists are learning that this relationship is based on communication. The algae is telling the coral that the algae belongs there and that everything is ok. If there wasn’t this communication, the corals would treat the algae as an invader and try to kill it. When the water warms or something else disrupts the coral, the communication starts to break down.

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