April 2019, ScientificAmerican.com 11South China Sea, a team of researchers
found that during periods of warming in the
distant past, coral reefs migrated away from
equatorial warm waters to the bay’s more
hospitable subtropical latitudes.
“We showed that the higher-latitude
reefs up around China did grow during ear-
lier warm periods,” says Tara Clark, a paleo-
ecologist at the University of Wollongong in
Australia. In 2015 Clark led a group of scien-
tists on an expedition to Daya Bay. There
the researchers randomly collected dead
corals and calculated their ages using radio-
isotopic dating techniques. The ancient
reefs grew between 6,850 and 5,510 years
ago, the scientists reported in January in
Geology, which coincides with a time when
ocean temperatures around South China
and nearby seas were one to two degrees
Celsius warmer on average than they are
today. This trend suggests that some of
today’s reefs may be able to set up shop in
places such as Daya Bay in the decades to
come, as temperatures climb.
The idea of refuges for imperiled reefson the move is not new, but using the fossil
record to help pinpoint such places is a rela-
tively novel approach, says John Pandolfi,
a marine paleoecologist at the University
of Queensland in Australia, who was not
involved in the new work. “It’s absolutely
fundamental to understanding the dynam-
ics of ecological communities and their
responses to ecological change,” he says.
Such change often occurs on broader time-
scales than those of humans, and the fossil
record can reveal that long-term change,
Pandolfi notes.
Although the fossil evidence suggests
that Daya Bay could one day provide a
ha ven for corals, there are some hurdles
in the way of making the refuge an inviting
place, Clark says. Not all corals, for in -
stance, are equally fit to trek across the
ocean to a new home. And Daya Bay is
now heavily polluted, which could jeopar-
dize its ability to sustain reefs. But in light of
the new discovery, Clark says, “we might
as well do the best we can to protect these
areas, just in case.” — Lucas JoelBleached leather corals in Buyat Bay, Indonesia© 2019 Scientific American © 2019 Scientific American
South China Sea, a team of researchers
found that during periods of warming in the
distant past, coral reefs migrated away from
equatorial warm waters to the bay’s more
hospitable subtropical latitudes.
“We showed that the higher-latitude
reefs up around China did grow during ear-
lier warm periods,” says Tara Clark, a paleo-
ecologist at the University of Wollongong in
Australia. In 2015 Clark led a group of scien-
tists on an expedition to Daya Bay. There
the researchers randomly collected dead
corals and calculated their ages using radio-
isotopic dating techniques. The ancient
reefs grew between 6,850 and 5,510 years
ago, the scientists reported in January in
Geology, which coincides with a time when
ocean temperatures around South China
and nearby seas were one to two degrees
Celsius warmer on average than they are
today. This trend suggests that some of
today’s reefs may be able to set up shop in
places such as Daya Bay in the decades to
come, as temperatures climb.
The idea of refuges for imperiled reefson the move is not new, but using the fossil
record to help pinpoint such places is a rela-
tively novel approach, says John Pandolfi,
a marine paleoecologist at the University
of Queensland in Australia, who was not
involved in the new work. “It’s absolutely
fundamental to understanding the dynam-
ics of ecological communities and their
responses to ecological change,” he says.
Such change often occurs on broader time-
scales than those of humans, and the fossil
record can reveal that long-term change,
Pandolfi notes.
Although the fossil evidence suggests
that Daya Bay could one day provide a
ha ven for corals, there are some hurdles
in the way of making the refuge an inviting
place, Clark says. Not all corals, for in -
stance, are equally fit to trek across the
ocean to a new home. And Daya Bay is
now heavily polluted, which could jeopar-
dize its ability to sustain reefs. But in light of
the new discovery, Clark says, “we might
as well do the best we can to protect these
areas, just in case.” — Lucas JoelBleached leather corals in Buyat Bay, Indonesiasad0419Adva3p.indd 11 2/20/19 5:01 PMThe #1 In Value—Guided Tours Since 1952Grand Canyon; Monument Valley; Visit
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