Question

Corals are considered animals because they don’t make their own food. However, within their tissues live algae, which produce food for the coral through photosynthesis. In turn, the coral provides a safe environment for the algae to grow.
Because of climate change, there has been a rise in coral bleaching. When the water is too warm, the coral expels the algae living in its tissues. Without a food supply, these coral die off. However, scientists have found evidence that one species of table coral seems to have evolved to be resistant to bleaching. In fact, when tested in a lab, only 20% of the table corals put in a hot pool bleached, while 55% in the cold pool bleached.

Some scientists want to place these heat-adapted coral in coral reefs that are damaged by climate change. What would the advantages and the disadvantages of this action be?

Answer 1

Answer: The advantage is that these table coral will likely increase the population of coral in the reefs. However, these new species might damage other organisms in the reef, particularly those that rely on native coral for resources.