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Coral reefs could survive global warming, says study
Why it is in news?
- Scientists have founded that coral-algal partnerships have endured numerous climate change events since the age of dinosaurs.
Study findings
- The relationship between corals and the mutualistic micro-algae that enable them to build reefs is considerably older and more diverse than previously assumed, according to a study published in the journal Current Biology.
- Past estimates placed the initiation of these symbiotic relationships at 50 to 65 million years ago.
- Research indicates that modern corals and their algal partners have been entwined with each other for much longer — since the time of the dinosaurs, approximately 160 million years ago.
Micro-Algae(zooxanthellae)
- The micro-algae, commonly called zooxanthellae, lives inside the cells of corals, allowing them to acquire energy from sunlight and to build the massive, economically valuable reef formations upon which countless marine organisms rely for habitat.
Origin of the algal symbionts
- the origin of the algal symbionts corresponds to major increases in the abundance and diversity of reef-building corals implies that the partnership with Symbiodiniaceae was one of the major reasons for the success of modern corals
Source
The Hindu