The soft corals of Lord Howe Island, approximately 700 kilometres northeast of Sydney, are demonstrating greater resilience to coral bleaching than the hard corals of the island, marine biologists have found.
Led by the University of New South Wales (NSW), the team surveyed the island’s coral reef—the world’s most southern—during, immediately after, and seven months following a marine heatwave in 2019.
PhD student and lead author of the paper, Rosemary Steinberg, said in a release on Thursday that overall, soft corals of Lord Howe faired better than hard corals during the bleaching event.
“This suggests that if Lord Howe Island continues to bleach, the species of soft corals that did well might become more prevalent on these reefs in comparison to their hard cousins,” she said, adding that this “allows us to plan for the benefits and challenges that a soft-coral dominated reef might pose.”…