U-T San Diego
March 12, 2013
Light-producing properties of corals send up warning flares that the organisms are in trouble, according to a study released Tuesday by researchers with Scripps Institution of Oceanography and U.C. Berkeley.
The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, explains how changes in coral fluorescence can alert marine researchers and ocean managers that a reef is dangerously stressed. That tip could help them avert coral bleaching, the loss of symbiotic algae that are critical for coral survival.