An international consortium of scientists has created the first-ever common framework for increasing comparability of research findings on coral bleaching.
“Coral bleaching is a major crisis and we have to find a way to move the science forward faster,” said Andréa Grottoli, a professor of earth sciences at The Ohio State University, Sustainability Institute affiliated faculty member, and lead author of a paper on guidelines published online Saturday in the journal Ecological Applications.
The common framework covers a broad range of variables that scientists generally monitor in their experiments, including temperature, water flow, light and others. It does not dictate what levels of each should be present during an experiment into the causes of coral bleaching; rather, it offers a common framework for increasing comparability of reported variables.
“Our goal was to create a structure that would allow researchers to anchor their studies, so we would have a common language and common reference points for comparing among studies,” said Grottoli, who also is director of the consortium that developed the common framework.
Coral bleaching is a significant problem for the world’s ocean ecosystems: When coral becomes bleached, it loses the algae that live inside it, turning it white. Coral can survive a bleaching but being bleached puts coral at higher risk for disease and death. And that can be catastrophic: Coral protects coastlines from erosion, offers a boost to tourism in coastal regions, and is an essential habitat to more than 25% of the world’s marine species.
Bleaching events have been happening with greater frequency and in greater numbers as the world’s atmosphere — and oceans — have warmed because of climate change.
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