Stephen Palumbi, a scientist at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station, is on the hunt for what he calls “super reefs.” These are regions of the ocean that are home to unusual sets of coral. When the ocean heats up, coral species get stressed. That leads to a phenomenon called coral bleaching, where these invertebrates begin to expel the algal communities that typically live harmoniously within them. As a result, the coral lose their brilliant hues and turn white.
But in “super reefs” the coral appear to have evolved to be heat-resistant and remain home to lush aquatic ecosystems. “They’re diverse, they’re functional,
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