Finding millennia-old ‘monumental’ corals could unlock secrets of climate resilience / Seek out the last ‘monumental corals’

Monumental trees are important ambassadors for nature conservation. Besides their symbolic value, they have overcome more ecological challenges than most of their younger relatives, and so might hide evolutionary secrets to mitigate global change impacts (O. Pasques & S. Munné-Bosch, S. PNAS 121, e2317866121; 2024). Finding analogues of monumental trees in the animal world is hard. Although various animal species can survive for centuries, only a few individuals—such as a giant Seychelles tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa) named Jonathan, born in 1832— have been monitored. A citizen science initiative, Map the Giants, https://www.mapthegiants.com/, recently launched by the Marine Research and High Education (MaRHE) centre of Milan-Bicocca University aims to bring a awareness similar to that for monumental trees to ‘monumental corals’. Ancient coral colonies are still producing clones of a larva that settled millennia ago and might also hold a precious history of adaptation. The first records, including massive colonies with circumferences exceeding 50 metres, have been already uploaded. With reefs globally threatened, and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef now experiencing one of the most severe bleaching events ever, finding the last giants will be a race against the clock. But, by coordinating the efforts of researchers and citizen scientists worldwide, Map the Giant might offer the remaining monumental corals an ultimate chance of being discovered, named and protected.

MONTANO Simone;  SIENA Federica;  STRONA Giovanni; 

2024-05-15

NATURE PORTFOLIO

JRC137956

0028-0836 (online),   

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01342-8,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC137956,   

10.1038/d41586-024-01342-8 (online),