The scientific schooner Tara will set sail on Sunday from Lorient, its home port, for an expedition in Southeast Asia aimed at identifying the “corals of tomorrow”—those most resistant to global warming.
Ten years after Tara Pacific, an expedition dedicated to coral biodiversity, this new mission, named Tara Coral, will take the floating laboratory to the Coral Triangle, a 5.7-million-km² region located between the Philippines, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea.
This biodiversity hotspot, home to one-third of the world’s coral reefs and 600 different species, is unique in that it contains reefs that are proving more resilient to climate warming.
Corals, which host a quarter of marine biodiversity while covering only 0.2% of the ocean’s surface, bleach under heat waves and eventually die.
However, “there are areas in the Coral Triangle where coral cover is actually increasing,” noted Paola Furla, the expedition’s scientific director, during a virtual press conference.
“It is therefore interesting to understand why some reefs, some species, some colonies are more or less sensitive to heat waves, and to identify the tolerant colonies,” explained the researcher and professor at Université Côte d’Azur.
67 scientists, 17 months, 1,440 dives
Tara will spend 17 months in the region, carrying 67 scientists who will conduct 1,440 dives to identify these “corals of tomorrow.” To solve this puzzle, researchers will explore several hypotheses, including the effect of greater species diversity, the presence of inherently more resistant species, individuals “pre-adapted” to warming due to their evolutionary history, or the influence of cold-water upwellings that limit ocean warming.
In addition to sampling water, sediments, and the corals themselves, researchers will subject coral fragments to acute thermal stress (+3°C, +6°C, +9°C) “to observe their reaction” and detect colonies that do not bleach, explained Serge Planes, research director at CNRS.
“Our objective is to find ways to slow the decline of coral reefs,” Planes emphasized, expressing hope for “healthy coral reefs in the future” thanks to scientific advances. He mentioned the potential for active reef restoration using various methods.
Tara is scheduled to leave Lorient on Sunday, reach Tokyo in early April, and then head to Papua New Guinea in May.
