Aug 17, 2026 · 33 min
Palau tests heat-tolerant corals for a warmer ocean
Can these corals take the heat?
As warming makes historic reef conditions harder to preserve, researchers must decide whether restoration means rebuilding the past or designing for the future.
- 1Bleaching breaks the partnership between corals and algae, leaving corals vulnerable to starvation as oceans warm.
- 2Palau researchers use inexpensive cooler-based experiments to identify corals that tolerate extreme heat before planting them on damaged reefs.
- 3Heat-adapted restoration could preserve reef ecosystems, but it also raises difficult questions about re-engineering nature for climate change.
Don't miss
Benji Hughes explains how researchers use picnic coolers and simple aquarium equipment to identify corals that withstand extreme heat.
The brief
Coral reefs depend on a partnership between animals and algae, but rising temperatures can break it apart, causing bleaching and eventually starvation.
Benji Hughes reports from Palau, where researchers are testing whether heat-tolerant corals can make restoration more durable as warming oceans reshape reef conditions.
Steve Palumbi’s team uses aquarium equipment and picnic coolers to expose coral samples to rising temperatures, compare bleaching responses, and select candidates for planting.
The approach shifts restoration from replacing damaged corals toward choosing organisms suited to a hotter future, a practical move with uncertain ecological consequences.
The episode’s central question is whether saving reefs requires restoring what existed before climate change or re-engineering ecosystems for what comes next.
Featuring
Benji Hughes
Byrd Pinkerton
Palau International Coral Reef CenterListen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.