The coral reefs in and around Sydney Harbour are now being fed fat, which research has shown helps protect coral reefs from the effects of climate change.
Few ecosystems have been hit harder by the rising ocean temperatures than coral reefs.
Scientists have struggled in their efforts to save these reefs, but now researchers in Australia are trying a new approach that they think could protect this vital ecosystem.
The reefs in and around Sydney Harbour are now being fed fat, which research has shown helps protect coral reefs from the effects of climate change.
"You can feed these little fat balls to the coral, and they take them, and they eat them," explains marine researcher Jen Matthews.
The decision to feed fat to these reefs comes after a 2015 study by Ohio State University found that fat deposits in coral reefs made them less likely to succumb to bleaching, which is caused when the coral expels the algae living inside it due to rising water temperatures. And the overall health of the reef is tied directly to the amount of algae it houses at any given time.
"Corals require an optimal nutrition to grow, reproduce and survive diseases and environmental changes," explains Matthews. "When corals bleach, they lose the relationship with this tiny algae that lives in their tissues and normally gives them all the nutrients they need to survive.”
Scientists and researchers alike believe however that the best way to save these reefs is by reducing global emissions.
"In order to save our reefs now, the most important thing is that we reduce our carbon emissions and we reduce them as quickly as possible," says marine biologist Selena Ward.
