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What Is Currently Known About the Effects of Climate Change on the Coral Immune Response

  • Corals and Climate Change (C Langdon, Section Editor)
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Abstract

It is well documented that climate change has a negative effect on coral reefs worldwide. Recurrent warming events, ocean acidification, and nutrient pollution are some of the hallmarks of climate change; each affects the health of coral, and together, their effects are multiplied. It is hypothesized that a healthy coral will have a strong, highly active immune system when confronted with different stressors. However, there is very little that we understand about how the coral immune system reacts to different climate change stressors. In this review, we will examine what is known about the effects of heat stress, ocean acidification, and nutrient pollution on the coral immune system. We will identify gaps in our knowledge and briefly discuss a path forward to address these gaps.

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Acknowledgements

Authors would like to thank Dr. Chris Langdon for the invitation to write this review, the reviewers for their helpful suggestions, and April Mann for assistance in editing of revisions.

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  1. Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL, 33149, USA

    Nikki Traylor-Knowles & Michael T. Connelly

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  1. Nikki Traylor-Knowles
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Correspondence to Nikki Traylor-Knowles.

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Traylor-Knowles, N., Connelly, M.T. What Is Currently Known About the Effects of Climate Change on the Coral Immune Response. Curr Clim Change Rep 3, 252–260 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40641-017-0077-7

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