Researchers have now found a new way to identify which corals are “heat-stressed” that could help scientists work on coral species that require protection from rising ocean temperatures due to climate change. Indian-born scientist Debashish Bhattacharya led the study at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, and explained the newly discovered technique as “similar to a blood test to assess human health.”
Debashish Bhattacharya, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers-New Brunswick University, explained that researchers can assess “coral health” by measuring the metabolites they produce and then identifying the best ones. interventions to ensure the health of the reef. The discovery came at a time when “coral bleaching” has risen dramatically to an alarming level and is also referred to as “ecological disaster”.
“This is similar to a blood test to assess human health,” said lead author Debashish Bhattacharya. “We can assess the health of the coral by measuring the metabolites (chemicals created for metabolism) that they produce and, ultimately, we identify the best interventions to ensure the health of the reefs. Coral bleaching from warming waters is an ongoing global ecological disaster. Therefore, we must develop sensitive diagnostic indicators that can be used to monitor the health of the reefs before the visible appearance of bleaching to give time to preventive conservation efforts.
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Corals could be bleached in 15 years
Meanwhile, research at Bangor University suggested that the Amazon rainforest could disappear in about 49 years and that coral reefs could whiten in the next 15 years. The researchers analyzed changes in 25 marine, 13 freshwater and four terrestrial ecosystems to find out how long it would take to reach a critical point. Dr Simon Willcock, lead co-author of the study, from the Bangor University School of Natural Sciences, said the changes pose a threat to human life. Scientists have said that once a “turning point” is triggered, large ecosystems could collapse much faster.
Although scientists have repeatedly warned about excessive “bleaching” of coral reefs due to global warming, another separate study revealed that some of the corals have developed a “sunscreen” to protect their skeletons from rising sea temperature.
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