Research explains Acropora corals' success—and their defeat
Thursday, May 12, 2016 - 13:00
in Earth & Climate
A new study paints a gloomy picture of the future of tropical coral reefs. According to a team of researchers including palaeobiologist Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kießling from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Acropora, the most common genus of coral with the most different species, could lose the fight against the climate change being caused by humans, sparking the destruction of underwater biotopes. "In this situation coral reefs are the victims of their own success," Kießling says.