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, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
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
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)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.