Coral reefs articles from across Nature Portfolio

Coral reefs are marine structures created by calcifying coral animals and their algal symbionts. Coral reef ecosystems are generally high in biodiversity, most often found in shallow tropical seas, and are threatened by factors including ocean acidification, global warming and sea level rise.

Latest Research and Reviews

Research | 16 March 2023

Increasing hypoxia on global coral reefs under ocean warming

Using data on oxygen variability taken from 32 representative reef sites, the authors show that hypoxia is already common. Under future scenarios of ocean warming and deoxygenation, the duration, intensity and severity of hypoxia will increase, with nearly one-third of reefs experiencing severe hypoxia.
- Ariel K. Pezner
- , Travis A. Courtney
- & Andreas J. Andersson
Nature Climate Change, 1-7
Research
14 February 2023 | Open Access

Life cycle of the cold-water coral Caryophyllia huinayensis
- Thomas Heran
- , Jürgen Laudien
- & Claudio Richter
Scientific Reports 13, 2593
Research
06 January 2023 | Open Access

Hidden heatwaves and severe coral bleaching linked to mesoscale eddies and thermocline dynamics

Hidden marine heatwaves, associated with ocean eddies that modulate undersea internal waves, threaten coastal ecosystems by driving unexpected sub-surface heating and severe coral bleaching and mortality across depths.
- Alex S. J. Wyatt
- , James J. Leichter
- & Scott C. Burgess
Nature Communications 14, 25
Research
21 December 2022 | Open Access

Palau’s warmest reefs harbor thermally tolerant corals that thrive across different habitats

A thermally-tolerant lineage of Porites lobata is identified from the Rock Islands of Palau.
- Hanny E. Rivera
- , Anne L. Cohen
- & Kirstin S. Meyer-Kaiser
Communications Biology 5, 1394
Research
10 December 2022 | Open Access

Machine learning prediction of connectivity, biodiversity and resilience in the Coral Triangle

The biological history of the Coral Triangle is inferred and analyzed using machine learning algorithms and climate data.
- Lyuba Novi
- & Annalisa Bracco
Communications Biology 5, 1359
Research
06 December 2022 | Open Access

Increases in reef size, habitat and metacommunity complexity associated with Cambrian radiation oxygenation pulses

During the Cambrian Radiation, oxygenation occurred in a series of short pulses. Here, the authors quantify episodic changes in reef size, extent of habitat and in metacommunity ecological complexity associated with these oxygenation pulses by examining archaeocyath sponges.
- Andrey Yu. Zhuravlev
- , Emily G. Mitchell
- & Amelia Penny
Nature Communications 13, 7523

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News and Comment

Research Highlights | 06 July 2021

No longer winning
- Bronwyn Wake
Nature Climate Change 11, 559
Research Highlights | 10 December 2020

The coral volatilome

An article in Global Change Biology characterizes the diversity and abundance of biogenic volatile organic compounds from two coral species.
- Graham Simpkins
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 2, 7
Research Highlights | 30 June 2020

Bleach me colourful
- Tegan Armarego-Marriott
Nature Climate Change 10, 599
Research Highlights | 26 April 2019

A stronger South Asian monsoon
- Baird Langenbrunner
Nature Climate Change 9, 352
Editorial | 29 January 2019

Speak for the reefs

One of the most visible impacts of current climate change is the catastrophic bleaching and death of corals in reefs around the world. This issue of Nature Ecology & Evolution and an online Focus highlight recent research documenting the transformation of these systems.

Nature Ecology & Evolution 3, 137
News & Views | 21 January 2019

Reefs need richness

The importance of biodiversity for productive community functioning is emerging as one of a very few general rules in ecology, but evidence has been sparse that it applies in tropical coral reefs—until now.
- J. Emmett Duffy
Nature Ecology & Evolution 3, 149-150

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Coral reefs articles from across Nature Portfolio

Latest Research and Reviews

Increasing hypoxia on global coral reefs under ocean warming

Life cycle of the cold-water coral Caryophyllia huinayensis

Hidden heatwaves and severe coral bleaching linked to mesoscale eddies and thermocline dynamics

Palau’s warmest reefs harbor thermally tolerant corals that thrive across different habitats

Machine learning prediction of connectivity, biodiversity and resilience in the Coral Triangle

Increases in reef size, habitat and metacommunity complexity associated with Cambrian radiation oxygenation pulses

News and Comment

No longer winning

The coral volatilome

Bleach me colourful

A stronger South Asian monsoon

Speak for the reefs

Reefs need richness

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