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IMAGE: Staghorn corals in the reef flat off Hagåtña appear bleached as a response to stress from environmental changes. As one of Guam's dominant reef-builders whose habitat experiences temperatures up to...
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Credit: University of Guam
A study by University of Guam researchers has found that shade can mitigate the effects of heat stress on corals. The study, which was funded by the university's National Science Foundation EPSCoR grant, was published in February in the peer-reviewed Marine Biology Research journal.
"We wanted to see what role light has in coral bleaching," said UOG Assistant Professor Bastian Bentlage, the supervisor and co-author of the study. "Usually, people talk about temperature as a cause for bleaching, but we show that both light and temperature work together."