Corals' natural 'sunscreen' may help them weather climate change

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Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists are one step closer to understanding why some corals can weather climate change better than others, and the secret could be in a specific protein that produces a natural sunscreen. As their name implies, Hawaiian blue rice corals sport a deep blue pigment, which is created by chromoprotein and filters out harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. Although UV damage may produce long-term impacts to reproduction in many coral species—including brown rice coral—it may not have the same effect on blue rice coral. The findings of this study were published June 9 in the paper "Reproductive plasticity of Hawaiian Montipora corals following thermal stress" in Scientific Reports.