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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Dec 13

Delighted to see our paper out in Science Magazine today.

And congrats for the amazing picture James Guest!

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

In Science Journals

Highlights from the Science family of journals

www.science.org

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Dec 8

Wednesday in Tulum:

James Guest at 11.30am on a 5- year selective breeding trial

& myself at 12.00pm on natural adaptation and importance of which trait we choose for breeding

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Dec 8

Can we selectively breed Acropora corals for heat tolerance?

Two upcoming Coralassist Lab talks on adaptation & breeding @coralconsortium.bsky.social #ReefFutures

Feasibility & lessons learned from Pacific context building on our 2 new papers:

doi.org/10.1126/scie...

rdcu.be/d2RhM

https://doi.org/10.1126/scienc…

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 29

Thanks to all the other supportive groups & institutions helping fuel ideas in our field: PICRC AIMS, @newcastleuni.bsky.social Coralassist Lab, University of Queensland, @ubcoceans.bsky.social, Southern Cross Uni

(12/12)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 29

Thanks for supporting this work: @ukri.org NERC, ONEPlanet DTP, ERC Research, Mitacs Canada, @rgsibg.bsky.social @icrs.bsky.social IDEAWILD

& wonderful coauthors: YM Bozec, J Bythell, @simondonner.bsky.social, H East, AJ Edwards, Y Golbuu, M Gouezo, J Guest, A Humanes, C Riginos & P Mumby

(11/12)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 29

Now we must combine this knowledge to support natural adaptation and enhance the heat tolerance of key coral species at local scales for high priority reefs.

(10/12)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 29

But there is also scope to bolster natural adaptation rates, e.g., via “assisted evolution”. We now know that selective breeding corals to improve adult tolerance to lethal heatwaves is feasible.

doi.org/10.1038/s414...

(9/12)

Selective breeding enhances coral heat tolerance to marine heatwaves - Nature Communications

Marine heatwaves can have severe impact on corals populations. This study demonstrates that selective breeding could quickly enhance coral tolerance to short-term heat stress by up to 1 °C. This has p...

doi.org

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 29

Our work is a call to action. If we want healthy reefs we must reduce emissions & manage reefs strategically to promote adaptation potential.

It's also a call away from complacency. Adaptation may well help maintain coral populations if we can deliver on decarbonisation.

(8/12)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 29

If we abandon the cause for climate action & global temperatures rise by ~5°C, Acropora corals in our model disappear.

This holds true even for an upper limit of adaptive potential, where heat tolerance is 100% genetically determined & inherited perfectly.

(7/12)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 29

Given current climate policies (which are lagging behind Paris commitments), we're on track for a ~3°C warmer world.

Including adaptation in our model can make the difference between Acropora corals being lost vs. persisting, albeit with a potential loss of reef function

(6/12)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 29

No matter our actions on reducing emissions, Acropora corals are expected to decline over the coming decades.

But if we can achieve Paris Agreement commitments and limit warming to 2°C, then natural selection could allow Acropora populations to thrive beyond 2050.

(5/12)

credit photo: Peter Mumby, graph: Liam Lachs

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 29

Marine heatwaves and resulting mass coral bleaching & mortality events remain the single biggest threat to coral reefs globally.

We set out to test whether coral adaptation via natural selection could occur fast enough to keep pace with ocean warming.

(3/12)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 29

The full paper in Science:
doi.org/10.1126/scie...

Our thoughts at The Conversation:
theconversation.com/corals-can-a...

Open access accepted version:
eprints.ncl.ac.uk/302731

(2/12)

Natural selection could determine whether Acropora corals persist under expected climate change

Marine heatwaves are intensifying under climate change, exposing populations of reef-building corals to mass mortality and intense selective pressure. It remains unknown whether adaptation can keep pa...

doi.org

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 29

📢New Paper Alert📢

on corals and climate change in Science

Adaptation via natural selection could determine whether Acropora corals persist under expected levels of global warming

Hyperlinks & explainer thread below ⬇️

(1/12)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 29

If we can make it to the top of that sand mountain then we can do anything!

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 27

Just finished a deep dive into detecting historic shifts in coral thermal tolerance with @annacresswell.bsky.social! Felt like we had a mountain to climb, but lots of great new ideas coming now. Thanks to support from @eseb.bsky.social AIMS James Gilmour, James Guest & many more!

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 18

Building on the great work of PICRC in Palau
and published in PLOS Climate, the paper explores how heat-mediated mass bleaching and the heat tolerance of a focal coral species vary across reefs that have contrasting historical exposure to marine heatwaves.

journals.plos.org/climate/arti...

High coral heat tolerance at local-scale thermal refugia

Marine heatwaves and mass bleaching have devastated coral populations globally, yet bleaching severity often varies among reefs. To what extent a reef’s past exposure to heat stress influences coral b...

journals.plos.org

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Nov 18

Thanks to Amanda Bates for her thoughts on how the recent paper from my PhD at the Coralassist Lab (on the variability of coral heat tolerance among reefs) contributes to thermal biology and conservation more broadly.

doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Oct 14

Paper was led by Adriana Humanes, Liam Lachs & James Guest

Part of the fruitful Coralassist Lab - PICRC collaboration, with support from the Horniman Museum, Uni. Of Exeter, Derby Uni. & Uni. Victoria

Funded by ERC, with support from UKRI / NERC

(9/9)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Oct 14

Our study shows selective breeding is feasible, yet potential heat tolerance gains are modest compared to expected future warming.

R&D is needed to optimise breeding interventions and maximise positive impacts.

Ultimately, reefs still depend on rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

(8/9)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Oct 14

Offspring bred for short-stress tolerance did not show evidence of enhanced tolerance to the long-term stress that more closely emulates marine heatwaves.

To maximise coral fitness in the face of climate change, care will be needed when selecting which traits to breed for.

(7/9)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Oct 14

Nature vs. Nurture:

The heritability of heat tolerance traits was ~0.2-0.3.

This means these traits have a substantial genetic basis but are also heavily influenced by other non-genetic factors.

(6/9)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Oct 14

Offspring whose parents had high (rather than low) heat tolerance showed an enhanced ability to withstand the type of heat stress for which they were bred.

They can withstand the heat stress for a longer duration before the onset of bleaching and mortality.

(5/9)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Oct 14

Then offspring were reared in an ocean nursery until they reached reproductive maturity themselves at 3-4 years old.

At this stage, the offspring were exposed to the same heat stress tests that were used years before to select their parents.

(4/9)

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Liam Lachs @liamlachs.bsky.social · Oct 14

Selective breeding was conducted for the bleaching survival response of wild corals to both:

- a short-term ~1-week +3.5 °C heat stress
- long-term ~1-month +2.5 °C heat stress

(3/9)

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