Abstract
From an experiment in which corals are transplanted between two depths on a Panamanian coral reef, Baker1 infers that bleaching may sometimes help reef corals to survive environmental change. Although Baker's results hint at further mechanisms by which reef-building corals may acclimatize to changing light conditions, we do not consider that the evidence supports his inference1.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker, A. C. Nature 411, 765–766 (2001).
Buddemeier, R. W. & Fautin, D. G. BioScience 43, 320–326 (1993).
Ware, J. R., Fautin, D. G. & Buddemeier, R. W. Ecol. Model. 84, 199–214 (1996).
Jones, R. J. & Hoegh-Guldberg, O. Plant Cell Envir. 24, 89–100 (2001).
Hoegh-Guldberg, O. Mar. Freshwat. Res. 50, 839–866 (1999).
Muscatine, L. & Cernichiari, E. Biol. Bull. Mar. Biol. Lab. Woods Hole 137, 506–523 (1969).
Falkowski, P. G. & Dubinsky, Z. Nature 289, 172–174 (1981).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Jones, R., Ward, S. et al. Is coral bleaching really adaptive?. Nature 415, 601–602 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/415601a
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/415601a
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Insights into ‘Symbiodiniaceae phycosphere’ in a coral holobiont
Symbiosis (2021)
-
Dynamic symbioses reveal pathways to coral survival through prolonged heatwaves
Nature Communications (2020)
-
Towards Developing a Mechanistic Understanding of Coral Reef Resilience to Thermal Stress Across Multiple Scales
Current Climate Change Reports (2018)
-
Coral symbioses under prolonged environmental change: living near tolerance range limits
Scientific Reports (2016)
-
Effects of modeled tropical sea surface temperature variability on coral reef bleaching predictions
Coral Reefs (2012)