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Reef-building corals may be more resilient against climate change than scientists had previously thought. Researchers have discovered that some species are able to survive an increase in seawater acidity, even though it strips the individual coral polyps of their protective calcium carbonate skeletons. This may be good news for individual polyps, but it doesn’t change the gloomy outlook for reef ecosystems.

As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise, so do the levels of dissolved carbon dioxide in sea water. This leads to an increase in ocean-borne carbonic acid, which is capable of dissolving calcium carbonate. “This is a major problem for corals,” says Maoz Fine, a marine zoologist at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. “Essentially, acidification leads to naked coral.”

Researchers estimates that ocean surface pH could decrease from 8.2 to 7.8 by the end of this century — more acidic than it has been for the past 20 million years.

Fine set out to study the effects of this ocean acidification on two species of Mediterranean coral, Oculina patagonica and Madracis pharencis.

He subjected specimens in the lab to increasingly acidic conditions. It didn’t take long for the colonies in the most acidic environments — those with pH levels as low as 7.3 — to show remarkable changes; within a few weeks, their calcium carbonate skeletons had started to dissolve and the polyps became entirely exposed, he and a colleague report in Science.

Surprisingly, the polyps seemed to fare well under these conditions, growing up to three times their original size and reproducing unhindered. “No one expected that corals could survive such low pH,” says Fine.

Equally remarkable is that the coral colony transformed from an interdependent collective into completely self-reliant organisms. Under normal conditions, coral polyps are connected by a tissue called the coenosarc, which enables them to share nutrients and spread out energy demands throughout the colony. “Corals are like a kibbutz,” explains Fine. “All members are equal and share everything; if one polyp hunts plankton, it shares it among the community.”But in the most acidic environments, the polyps withdrew their coenosarcs and proceeded to fend for themselves.

It is the first time researchers have seen this kind of response. Fine says the acid-induced changes are so radical that several of his colleagues were unable to identify the two relatively common species. “Our students — everyone we showed — thought we were joking.”

Once pH levels were returned to normal, the polyps quickly reverted back to their original state, rebuilding their skeletons, shrinking to their original size and restoring their kibbutz-like colony.

Fine is quick to point out that his findings contain no good news for the future of coral reefs, or the fish that depend on them for protection and food. “We have to remember that while coral polyps may survive, reefs won’t,” he says.