{"id":400878,"date":"2025-09-08T16:34:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T14:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=400878"},"modified":"2025-09-08T16:37:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T14:37:02","slug":"coral-climate-absurdity-spending-millions-breeding-heat-tolerance-which-already-exists-in-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=400878","title":{"rendered":"Coral Climate Absurdity: Spending Millions Breeding Heat Tolerance Which Already Exists in Nature"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by <\/strong>Eric Worrall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Persian Gulf extremophile corals<\/a> can tolerate temperatures far higher \u2013 and lower \u2013 than open ocean corals. But we totally have to spend millions breeding new corals which can replicate this feat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Scientists hope planting Palau\u2019s \u2018super corals\u2019 will save reefs from climate change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Hugo Hodge<\/a>
Sat 6 Sep<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palau\u2019s idyllic waters hide an experiment that scientists hope will save the world\u2019s reefs from climate change-induced collapse.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

At an outer reef, ceramic cribs are holding thousands of baby corals growing underwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re \u201csuper corals\u201d, selectively bred to survive hotter ocean temperatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they\u2019re providing hope in global efforts to stop marine heatwaves from wiping out reefs.

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHopefully they\u2019ll be able to grow and we\u2019ll be able to tell if they\u2019re able to withstand the next coral bleaching event here in Palau,\u201d Lauren Piot, a French-American researcher at the Palau International Coral Reef Centre (PICRC), says.

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there are doubts they\u2019re being deployed fast enough and can withstand increasingly severe marine heatwaves into the future.

\u2026Read more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2025-09-06\/palau-corals-selective-breeding-climate-change-reefs\/105728666<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Back in the real world, such corals already exist, and the scientists who study them have already proposed such corals could be used to save other reefs if global warming ever threatens corals.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

MARCH 3, 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hot Water Corals in the Persian Gulf Could Help Save the World\u2019s Reefs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The species may hold genetic clues that could help reefs worldwide adapt to warmer ocean temperatures<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY MICHAEL CASEY<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just down the road from the world\u2019s tallest tower, in the shadow of monster sand dunes, marine biologists from around the world clamored onboard a boat for a visit to some of the Persian Gulf\u2019s coral reefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most coral reefs in temperate climates can withstand temperatures only as high as 29 degrees Celsius before they bleach<\/strong>\u2014a process in which corals expel their symbiotic algae living in their tissue, causing them to turn white and increasing their vulnerability to disease and death.\u00a0Corals in the Persian Gulf reefs, however, typically tolerate temperatures as high as 36 degrees C during summer and as low as 13 degrees C in winter.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThese temperatures exceed what we are expecting anywhere else in the world in the tropics over the next century,\u201d says John Burt, a marine biologist at a branch of New York University in the Emirates, who led the reef tour in 2012. Burt also helped organize an international conference in February on Persian Gulf reefs at NYU, which brought together 250 scientists. The Persian Gulf corals \u201coffer hope,\u201d he says. Some of the genetic mechanisms they use could help others survive these extreme temperatures.

\u2026Read more:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/hot-water-corals-in-the-persian-gulf-could-help-save-the-world-s-reefs\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Persian Gulf corals can handle temperature extremes, along the pollution and turbidity which comes from being located in one of the world\u2019s busiest shipping lanes. But I\u2019m sure, you know, they\u2019re too Persian or something, because it is obviously absolutely necessary for well funded reef scientists to ignore natural reservoirs of extremophile corals and spend millions of taxpayer dollars breeding their own varieties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do I need a \/sarc tag?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before you think it\u2019s just Australian money being blown on this absurd and pointless project, the Biden administration also threw some cash at South Pacific coral resilience projects, including Palau<\/a>. I mean why wouldn\u2019t they? Biden threw taxpayer cash at everything else with the word \u201cclimate\u201d in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

You are welcome to comment on this article, but WUWT is still in the middle of an upgrade. When that completes in a few days the comments will be lost. This post may or may not survive.<\/em><\/strong>
See this post<\/a> for more information.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Persian Gulf extremophile corals\u00a0can tolerate temperatures far higher \u2013 and lower \u2013 than open ocean corals. But we totally have to spend millions breeding new corals which can replicate this feat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":400881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"Discover how Persian Gulf corals could hold the key to saving reefs from climate change while questioning the need for costly breeding projects.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Corals vs. Climate: Harnessing Persian Gulf's Resilience","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818056,691821787,691818087,691822025,691837805,691830080],"class_list":{"0":"post-400878","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-change","9":"tag-corals","10":"tag-global-warming","11":"tag-palau","12":"tag-persian-gulf","13":"tag-temperature-extremes","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQOwz_OerALxF4wBrKjbJCKOiZAGEkf1ZsaYxNH4GNdocwePneUTEbGp9WHePT0Xi5zSAioDRlJIuVQssER2wlcgif2UM1CbHSTGD8heacyuiImEEOedGmtlUWD68_tKF_XTkQvzM6KJGiRu0hLMN2U79DoejA-1.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1GhM","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":325078,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=325078","url_meta":{"origin":400878,"position":0},"title":"Coral Reefs are as Good as Dead, so We Don\u2019t have to Try Anymore?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/04\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The adult form of coral is immobile, but\u00a0every year, when conditions are right, coral produces uncounted billions of highly mobile microscopic larvae which seek out new locations to colonise. Coral is continuously probing the boundaries of its range, and establishing new colonies when conditions permit.","rel":"","context":"In \"1.5 degrees Celsius\"","block_context":{"text":"1.5 degrees Celsius","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=1-5-degrees-celsius"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0-Great-barrier-ref.jpeg?fit=1200%2C698&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0-Great-barrier-ref.jpeg?fit=1200%2C698&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0-Great-barrier-ref.jpeg?fit=1200%2C698&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0-Great-barrier-ref.jpeg?fit=1200%2C698&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0-Great-barrier-ref.jpeg?fit=1200%2C698&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":307678,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=307678","url_meta":{"origin":400878,"position":1},"title":"Wrong, Reuters and CNN, Coral Doing Well Amidst Modest Warming, Bleaching \u2260 Coral Death","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"13\/03\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Bleaching may occur, but history shows such events do not equal coral death, and the evidence suggests that the cause for any bleaching that occurs this year is a short-term spike in ocean temperatures due to natural El Ni\u00f1o patterns, not climate change.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0-Great-Barrier-Reef-12.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0-Great-Barrier-Reef-12.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0-Great-Barrier-Reef-12.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0-Great-Barrier-Reef-12.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0-Great-Barrier-Reef-12.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":303940,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=303940","url_meta":{"origin":400878,"position":2},"title":"InQueensland Presents Good News on Corals, Then Mucks It up With a False Climate Scare","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"23\/02\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"An Australian news site, InQueensland, reports that a new study has found that there are 25 percent more coral reefs on Earth than previously thought. This is good news showing that corals are resilient in the face of climate change, which data indicates is not harming them.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/035087312742_589fbf3e48_k-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C835&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/035087312742_589fbf3e48_k-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C835&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/035087312742_589fbf3e48_k-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C835&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/035087312742_589fbf3e48_k-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C835&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/035087312742_589fbf3e48_k-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C835&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":258661,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=258661","url_meta":{"origin":400878,"position":3},"title":"More RCP 8.5 Fantasy Games:","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/05\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"New models detail consequences of high emissions for Gulf, Caribbean corals","rel":"","context":"In \"climate scientists\"","block_context":{"text":"climate scientists","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-scientists"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0modelsvsdata.png?fit=1200%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0modelsvsdata.png?fit=1200%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0modelsvsdata.png?fit=1200%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0modelsvsdata.png?fit=1200%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0modelsvsdata.png?fit=1200%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":373529,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=373529","url_meta":{"origin":400878,"position":4},"title":"Great Barrier Reef Corals Are Growing and Thriving\u2026Earlier Damage Not Climate Related","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/04\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The facts: Record numbers of coral reefs were already measured in 2024, and the coverage has indeed tripled over the last 12 years.","rel":"","context":"In \"Australia\"","block_context":{"text":"Australia","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=australia"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0-corals-GBR.jpeg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0-corals-GBR.jpeg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0-corals-GBR.jpeg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0-corals-GBR.jpeg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0-corals-GBR.jpeg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":340245,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=340245","url_meta":{"origin":400878,"position":5},"title":"600 years of coral at Fiji shows the ocean was just as warm in 1400AD","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"21\/08\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"For some reason our long climate proxies work for hundreds of years but always seem to stop working just before the man-made catastrophe appears. 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