Evidence mounts on coral reef extinction
By Juan Carlos Gutierrez | Oct. 15, 2010According to the results of a recent UB experiment, the future of the ocean's coral reefs is uncertain, and the beauty of the ocean floor is not the only thing in danger. Mary Alice Coffroth, professor of geological sciences, has conducted a study focused on the question of whether coral reefs would be able to adapt to rising sea temperatures caused by global warming and live on in the future. Coffroth and her collaborators are looking for possible natural solutions to coral bleaching, the process by which coral reefs lose all of the algae they carry.