Corals seem like permanent structures, but some species have migrated far north from their historical range. The established coral themselves don't move, but the offspring, or polyps, of corals in waters around Japan have been moving north up to eight and a half miles per year since 1930, according to research covered by the journal Nature.
Hiroya Yamano of the Center for Global Environmental Research in Japan and his colleagues compared the historical and present day ranges of nine coral species. Four of the species studied had moved north, while the other five stayed put. All four species are listed as vulnerable or threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Moving north may save the coral from extinction, but could seriously disrupt the other species that depend on them.
“For corals it is good news, but for ecosystems, maybe not," said Yamano.
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The Japanese corals may be looking for cooler waters, but other species of coral have been moving north following warmer waters.
The northward expansion of coral happened before in the middle Holocene epoch (10,000- 6,000 years ago). Staghorn and elkhorn corals colonized the coast of Florida, as far north as Palm Beach, but retreated to Biscayne Bay when waters cooled. But a 2004 study published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment found that the corals have moved north again.
Coral aren't the only species moving in response to changing temperatures.
Animals, Plants Forced to Migrate to Keep Pace with Climate
Opossums have been found as far north as Vermont, where their thin coats, naked tails and large ears used to make survival impossible.
The purple finch now spends its winters up 400 miles further north than it used to.
The 100-pound Humboldt squid has expanded from its old home turf in equatorial waters to as far north as central California.
Climate change is causing a global scale game of musical chairs. Even humans may be forced to migrate as glaciers melt and water sources dry up, as a recent Washington Post article pointed out.
Coral, the Lifeblood of the Ocean
IMAGE 1: Coral growing near Okinawa, Japan (Wikimedia Commons)
Tags: Animal Behavior, Animal Relationships, Animal Science, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change
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