Over the past few decades, warming ocean waters due to climate change and global warming have been ravaging coral reefs. But thanks to a recent study, it raises the possibility that with the help of some deliberate breeding, the threat may be hindered.

According to a study published in the journal Science, scientists reported corals, which naturally thrive in the hottest tropical oceans, can be bred with identical species in cooler waters to help them survive the mounting effects of global warming. Reuters has learned that corals in warm waters were able to survive bigger temperature rises than those in cooler seas.

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A team of scientists from the U.S. and Australia, who conducted experiments on the corals in the warm waters of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, revealed that there's a possibility that deliberate breeding can pass on heat-tolerant genes to keep the threats of climate change at bay, Newsweek noted. While some corals already have the genes to adapt to higher ocean temperatures, the natural migration of these genes with corals under stress could potentially be sped up artificially.

"These mutations are already there, they just need to be spread out," University of Texas Biology professor and study author Mikhail Matz said.

For years, scientists have linked global warming to the buildup of man-made gases in the atmosphere. And as the threats of climate change keep on rising, human interventions, as well as modern technology may be needed soon.

Boosting the coral evolution isn't an entirely new concept. According to Washington Post, several scientists have already suggested genetically modifying corals through artificial breeding. Now, a team of scientists discovered the heat tolerance genes after cross-breeding individuals of a branching coral (Acropora millepora), which are located on the far northern Great Barrier Reef.

Those Acropora millepora species, which are common in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, have brought offspring that were significantly better at coping with rising temperatures brought by global warming than the cooler southern corals.

"Coral larvae with parents from the north, where waters were about 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) warmer, were up to 10 times as likely to survive heat stress, compared with those with parents from the south," the experts wrote.

Last year, United Nations reported that there were early warning indications that warm water corals and the Arctic were among the most vulnerable parts of nature that are already suffering from the irreversible changes of global warming. And since corals are vital nurseries for many marine life, researchers hope that through their latest discovery, coral extinction as a result of climate change can be stopped.

Scientists, however, cautioned that warmer waters were only one of the many problems the corals are facing. Pollution and acidification of the oceans also pose a risk for the coral population. Because of climate change, the study adds to a wider debate about deliberately relocating animals and plants, despite risks of unwittingly bringing diseases to their new homes.

Meanwhile, the latest boost on coral evolution may be applied to other marine animals. Scientists said that as the drastic effects of global warming and climate change loom, their new discovery can also be beneficial to other species of coral, sea urchins, sea cucumbers and maybe even fish.

TagsCoral Breeding, Warming Seas, global warming, Science