Super corals in Kaneohe Bay provide hope for world's coral reefs

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Cindy Knapman, (808) 956-7410
Communications Leader, Sea Grant College Program
Posted: May 16, 2019

Over and under image of Kaneohe Bay showing healthy coral reefs and the Koolau Range in the background. (Photo courtesy of Andre P. Seale)
Over and under image of Kaneohe Bay showing healthy coral reefs and the Koolau Range in the background. (Photo courtesy of Andre P. Seale)

Naturally occurring super corals in Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu, are surviving under ocean conditions that many predicted would decimate all coral reefs on the planet, according to researchers in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

The research, funded by the UH Sea Grant College Program and published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, showed how reefs within Kāneʻohe Bay that were devastated by sewage inputs between the 1930s and 1970s recovered within 20 years after the sewage input was diverted. Amazingly, the reefs recovered while withstanding warmer temperatures and more acidic conditions than nearby reefs outside the bay.

“I discovered how unique the situation is in Kāneʻohe Bay during my doctoral research at UH,” said Christopher Jury, study lead at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology. “We knew that the temperature and chemistry conditions in Kāneʻohe Bay are very similar to the conditions that people predict will kill corals off globally, yet the reefs in the bay are thriving, making the area incredibly valuable as a possible window into the future.”

For the full story, see the SOEST website.                                                                        

The University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program is part of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s prestigious School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. It supports an innovative program of research, education, and extension services directed to the improved understanding and stewardship of coastal and marine resources of the state, region, and nation. Science serving Hawai‘i and the Pacific since 1968.